True dharma is God's direct order; all manufactured religions are mental concoctions masquerading as truth.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.10.1 — June 16, 1973, Māyāpur 730616SB-MAYAPUR [31:40 Minutes] SB-01.10.01_730616SB-MAYAPUR Pradyumna: śaunaka uvāca hatvā svariktha-spṛdha ātatāyino yudhiṣṭhiro dharma-bhṛtāṁ variṣṭhaḥ sahānujaiḥ pratyavaruddha-bhojanaḥ kathaṁ pravṛttaḥ kim akāraṣīt tataḥ [SB 1.10.1] [Prabhupāda interrupts to correct pronunciation of pratyavaruddha] [break] śaunakaḥ uvāca—Śaunaka inquired; hatvā—after killing; svariktha—legal inheritance; spṛdhaḥ—desiring to usurp; ātatāyinaḥ—the aggressor; yudhiṣṭhiraḥ—King Yudhiṣṭhira; dharma-bhṛtām—of those who strictly follow religious principles; variṣṭhaḥ—greatest; saha-anujaiḥ—with his younger brothers; pratyavaruddha—restricted; bhojanaḥ—acceptance of necessities; katham—how; pravṛttaḥ—engaged; kim—what; akāraṣīt—executed; tataḥ—thereafter. [03:09] Translation: "Śaunaka Muni asked: After killing his enemies who desired to usurp his rightful inheritance, how did the greatest of all religious men, Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, assisted by his brothers, rule his subjects? Surely he could not freely enjoy his kingdom with unrestricted consciousness." Prabhupāda: So here the most important word is yudhiṣṭhiro dharma-bhṛtāṁ variṣṭhaḥ. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira was known as Dharmarāja, very strictly following religious principles.
So he killed... For his sake, sixty-four crores of men were killed in the battlefield of Kurukṣetra. So he was not happy, although the battle, the fight, was religious fight. It is not whimsical.
Just like in the modern days the politicians, they fight unnecessarily to fulfill their desire... Just like in our country, unnecessarily they divided Pakistan, and to fulfill the whims of the leaders, they are fighting, with nobody's gain, neither there is any religious principles. So fighting whimsically by the politicians, that is not sanctioned. There must be dharma-yuddha. Dharma-yuddha means religious fight, fight on religious principles.
So what was the religious principle? [aside:] Hmm, where is that mat? [Bengali] Here it is said, hatvā ātatāyinaḥ. Ātatāyī means aggressor. If somebody comes to your home to kidnap your wife, to take by force your property or to set fire in your house, he is called ātatāyī. He should immediately be killed.
It is not that nonviolence nonsense. If somebody is coming to attack you unnecessarily, you must kill him first. It is not Vaiṣṇavism, "Oh, this man is coming to kill me. All right, let me embrace him." No.
That is not the rule. When there is ātatāyī, aggressor, you must fight, you must kill. That is religious. So Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja, dharma-bhṛtāṁ variṣṭhaḥ, he was so strictly followers of religious principle that when even Kṛṣṇa advised him that "You go and say some lies to Droṇācārya. Because Droṇācārya will not believe anyone, you say and go there that 'Your son Aśvatthāmā is dead.' " And Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja hesitated, that "How can I say this lie?" Of course, this is too much following religious principle.
This is also another instruction. When Kṛṣṇa says that "You go and speak the lies," he should have done immediately. That is dharma. Because dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam [SB 6.3.19]. Dharma means which is given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.