द्रोणस्य प्रीतिसंयुक्तं श्रुत्वा वाक्यं तवात्मजः ॥
आर्जुनिं प्रति संक्रुद्धो द्रोणं दृष्ट्वा स्मयन्न् इव ॥
अथ दुर्योधनः कर्णम् अब्रवीद् बाह्लिकं कृपम् ॥
दुःसासनं मद्रराजं तांस् तांश् चान्यान् महारथान् ॥
सर्वमूर्धावसिक्तानाम् आचार्यो ब्रह्मवित्तमः ॥
अर्जुनस्य सुतं मूढं नाभिहन्तुम् इहेच्छति ॥
droṇasya prītisaṃyuktaṃ śrutvā vākyaṃ tavātmajaḥ ||
ārjuniṃ prati saṃkruddho droṇaṃ dṛṣṭvā smayann iva ||
atha duryodhanaḥ karṇam abravīd bāhlikaṃ kṛpam ||
duḥsāsanaṃ madrarājaṃ tāṃs tāṃś cānyān mahārathān ||
sarvamūrdhāvasiktānām ācāryo brahmavittamaḥ ||
arjunasya sutaṃ mūḍhaṃ nābhihantum ihecchati ||
Having heard Drona's affectionate words, your son, enraged at the son of Arjuna, glanced at Drona with a smirk, and then — Duryodhana — said to Karna, Bahlika, Kripa, Duhshasana, the king of the Madras, and to this and that other great chariot-warrior: "The preceptor, the foremost knower of Brahman among all anointed kings, does not wish to slay here this mere child, the son of Arjuna."
f9b01353bd00 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:22:09 PM UTC
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Duryodhana's envy instantly turns the teacher's pure praise into suspicion: 'he does not wish to slay him — that means he spares him out of partiality.' He calls the youth 'a mere child,' belittling the very one Drona had just praised — for envy cannot bear another's superiority. It is telling that he interprets the master's sincere admiration as secret betrayal. The verse teaches that an envious heart hears in any praise of an enemy a reproach against itself, and hastens to disparage the one praised; that suspicion perverts good words, turning admiration into accusation; and that Duryodhana, unable either to overcome the youth himself or to bear praise of him, reveals the nature of envy — it does not rise to acknowledge another's greatness but drags it down, to silence its own sense of injury.