Дурьодхана
येन भोजश् च हार्दिक्यो भवांश् च त्रिदशोपमः ॥
अस्त्रप्रतापेन जितौ श्रुतायुश् च निबर्हितः ॥
सुदक्षिणश् च निहतः स च राजा श्रुतायुधः ॥
श्रुतायुश् चाच्युतायुश् च म्लेच्छाश् च शतशो हताः ॥
तं कथं पाण्डवं युद्धे दहन्तम् अहितान् बहून् ॥
प्रतियोत्स्यामि दुर्धर्षं तन् मे शंसास्त्रकोविद ॥
yena bhojaś ca hārdikyo bhavāṃś ca tridaśopamaḥ ||
astrapratāpena jitau śrutāyuś ca nibarhitaḥ ||
sudakṣiṇaś ca nihataḥ sa ca rājā śrutāyudhaḥ ||
śrutāyuś cācyutāyuś ca mlecchāś ca śataśo hatāḥ ||
taṃ kathaṃ pāṇḍavaṃ yuddhe dahantam ahitān bahūn ||
pratiyotsyāmi durdharṣaṃ tan me śaṃsāstrakovida ||
"By whom both Bhoja Hardikya and you, god-like one, were conquered by the might of weapons, and Shrutayu struck down; and Sudakshina slain, and that king Shrutayudha, and Shrutayu, and Achyutayu, and mlecchas by the hundreds slain -- how shall I fight in battle that unconquerable Pandava who burns down so many foes? Tell me that, O knower of weapons."
c9280a326f53 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:45:02 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Duryodhana lists the fallen to underscore the hopelessness: the one who overcame all, even Drona himself, cannot be overcome. And still he asks, "katham pratiyotsyāmi" -- "how shall I fight him." The contradiction is telling: he admits impossibility -- and seeks a means anyway. The verse teaches that passion does not heed reason: even having recounted every proof of futility, the deluded man still seeks an impossible remedy; and the tragedy of the unrighteous lies in this split, where knowledge says "impossible" while will drives him onward, to ruin.