न चाहं कं चिद् अत्यर्थम् अपराधम् अरिंदम ॥
विचिन्तयन् प्रपश्यामि सुसूक्ष्मम् अपि केशव ॥
प्रियाभ्युपगते द्यूते पाण्डवा मधुसूदन ॥
जिताः शकुनिना राज्यं तत्र किं मम दुष्कृतम् ॥
यत् पुनर् द्रविणं किं चित् तत्राजीयन्त पाण्डवाः ॥
तेभ्य एवाभ्यनुज्ञातं तत् तदा मधुसूदन ॥
अपराधो न चास्माकं यत् ते ह्य् अक्षपराजिताः ॥
अजेया जयतां श्रेष्ठ पार्थाः प्रव्राजिता वनम् ॥
केन चाप्य् अपवादेन विरुध्यन्ते ऽरिभिः सह ॥
अशक्ताः पाण्डवाः कृष्ण प्रहृष्टाः प्रत्यमित्रवत् ॥
na cāhaṃ kaṃ cid atyartham aparādham ariṃdama ||
vicintayan prapaśyāmi susūkṣmam api keśava ||
priyābhyupagate dyūte pāṇḍavā madhusūdana ||
jitāḥ śakuninā rājyaṃ tatra kiṃ mama duṣkṛtam ||
yat punar draviṇaṃ kiṃ cit tatrājīyanta pāṇḍavāḥ ||
tebhya evābhyanujñātaṃ tat tadā madhusūdana ||
aparādho na cāsmākaṃ yat te hy akṣaparājitāḥ ||
ajeyā jayatāṃ śreṣṭha pārthāḥ pravrājitā vanam ||
kena cāpy apavādena virudhyante 'ribhiḥ saha ||
aśaktāḥ pāṇḍavāḥ kṛṣṇa prahṛṣṭāḥ pratyamitravat ||
"'And I, O subduer of foes, reflecting, find in myself no excessive offense, not even the subtlest, O Keshava. When the Pandavas, O Madhusudana, willingly came to the game, they were defeated by Shakuni and lost their kingdom — what evil deed of mine is there in that? And whatever wealth the Pandavas lost there, it was given up then with their own consent, O Madhusudana. There is no fault of ours in that they, the unconquerable Parthas, defeated by the dice, were banished to the forest, O best of conquerors. On what accusation do the Pandavas, powerless yet exultant like open enemies, now stand against us together with our foes, O Krishna?'"
9da1b42096d6 · published Jul 17, 2026, 5:51:08 AM UTC
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Duryodhana answers not with an acknowledgment of dharma but with self-justification. He reduces the wrong to a formal game of dice, declares himself innocent, and cloaks his obstinacy in the language of kshatriya honor. Here the central rupture becomes visible: outward valor without humility and truth ceases to be dharma and becomes instead a determination to perish along with one's whole line.