ततो दुर्योधनो राजा भीष्मम् आसाद्य मारिष ॥
दुःखेन महताविष्टो विललापातिकर्शितः ॥
निहता भ्रातरः शूरा भीमसेनेन मे युधि ॥
यतमानास् तथान्ये ऽपि हन्यन्ते सर्वसैनिकाः ॥
भवांश् च मध्यस्थतया नित्यम् अस्मान् उपेक्षते ॥
सो ऽहं कापथम् आरूढः पश्य दैवम् इदं मम ॥
एतच् छ्रुत्वा वचः क्रूरं पिता देवव्रतस् तव ॥
दुर्योधनम् इदं वाक्यम् अब्रवीत् साश्रुलोचनम् ॥
उक्तम् एतन् मया पूर्वं द्रोणेन विदुरेण च ॥
गान्धार्या च यशस्विन्या तत्त्वं तात न बुद्धवान् ॥
समयश् च मया पूर्वं कृतो वः शत्रुकर्शन ॥
नाहं युधि विमोक्तव्यो नाप्य् आचार्यः कथं चन ॥
यं यं हि धार्तराष्ट्राणां भीमो द्रक्ष्यति संयुगे ॥
हनिष्यति रणे तं तं सत्यम् एतद् ब्रवीमि ते ॥
स त्वं राजन् स्थिरो भूत्वा दृढां कृत्वा रणे मतिम् ॥
योधयस्व रणे पार्थान् स्वर्गं कृत्वा परायणम् ॥
न शक्याः पाण्डवा जेतुं सेन्द्रैर् अपि सुरासुरैः ॥
तस्माद् युद्धे मतिं कृत्वा स्थिरां युध्यस्व भारत ॥
tato duryodhano rājā bhīṣmam āsādya māriṣa ||
duḥkhena mahatāviṣṭo vilalāpātikarśitaḥ ||
nihatā bhrātaraḥ śūrā bhīmasenena me yudhi ||
yatamānās tathānye 'pi hanyante sarvasainikāḥ ||
bhavāṃś ca madhyasthatayā nityam asmān upekṣate ||
so 'haṃ kāpatham ārūḍhaḥ paśya daivam idaṃ mama ||
etac chrutvā vacaḥ krūraṃ pitā devavratas tava ||
duryodhanam idaṃ vākyam abravīt sāśrulocanam ||
uktam etan mayā pūrvaṃ droṇena vidureṇa ca ||
gāndhāryā ca yaśasvinyā tattvaṃ tāta na buddhavān ||
samayaś ca mayā pūrvaṃ kṛto vaḥ śatrukarśana ||
nāhaṃ yudhi vimoktavyo nāpy ācāryaḥ kathaṃ cana ||
yaṃ yaṃ hi dhārtarāṣṭrāṇāṃ bhīmo drakṣyati saṃyuge ||
haniṣyati raṇe taṃ taṃ satyam etad bravīmi te ||
sa tvaṃ rājan sthiro bhūtvā dṛḍhāṃ kṛtvā raṇe matim ||
yodhayasva raṇe pārthān svargaṃ kṛtvā parāyaṇam ||
na śakyāḥ pāṇḍavā jetuṃ sendrair api surāsuraiḥ ||
tasmād yuddhe matiṃ kṛtvā sthirāṃ yudhyasva bhārata ||
Then King Duryodhana, approaching Bhishma, O venerable one, overcome by great sorrow and utterly worn out, began to lament: 'My heroic brothers have been slain by Bhimasena in battle. And the rest, however hard they strive, are perishing too — all the soldiers. And you, remaining as if in the middle, constantly disregard us. So I have set out upon an evil path: behold this fate of mine!' Having heard these harsh words, Devavrata, your father, said to Duryodhana, whose eyes were filled with tears: 'I told you this before; Drona, Vidura, and glorious Gandhari also told you the truth, but you, my son, did not understand it. Moreover, crusher of foes, I made an agreement with you before: neither I nor the teacher Drona may ever be released from the battle. Whichever of the sons of Dhritarashtra Bhima sees in the fight, he will slay each one in battle; this I tell you truly. Therefore, king, be steadfast, fix your resolve firmly for battle, and fight the Parthas, making heaven your goal. The Pandavas cannot be conquered even by the gods together with Indra and the asuras. Therefore, O Bharata, having fixed your mind firmly on war, fight steadfastly.'
25db5ebf7e55 · published Jul 17, 2026, 9:46:24 PM UTC
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Duryodhana admits he has taken an evil path, but even this admission is no repentance: he blames Bhishma rather than his own choice. Bhishma's answer is stern and clear: the truth was already spoken, the consequences have already come, and now nothing remains but to meet them without self-deception.