मुख्यश् चैवैष नो धर्मः क्षत्रियाणां जनार्दन ॥
यच् छयीमहि संग्रामे शरतल्पगता वयम् ॥
ते वयं वीरशयनं प्राप्स्यामो यदि संयुगे ॥
अप्रणम्यैव शत्रूणां न नस् तप्स्यति माधव ॥
कश् च जातु कुले जातः क्षत्रधर्मेण वर्तयन् ॥
भयाद् वृत्तिं समीक्ष्यैवं प्रणमेद् इह कस्य चित् ॥
उद्यच्छेद् एव न नमेद् उद्यमो ह्य् एव पौरुषम् ॥
अप्य् अपर्वणि भज्येत न नमेद् इह कस्य चित् ॥
इति मातङ्गवचनं परीप्सन्ति हितेप्सवः ॥
धर्माय चैव प्रणमेद् ब्राह्मणेभ्यश् च मद्विधः ॥
mukhyaś caivaiṣa no dharmaḥ kṣatriyāṇāṃ janārdana ||
yac chayīmahi saṃgrāme śaratalpagatā vayam ||
te vayaṃ vīraśayanaṃ prāpsyāmo yadi saṃyuge ||
apraṇamyaiva śatrūṇāṃ na nas tapsyati mādhava ||
kaś ca jātu kule jātaḥ kṣatradharmeṇa vartayan ||
bhayād vṛttiṃ samīkṣyaivaṃ praṇamed iha kasya cit ||
udyacched eva na named udyamo hy eva pauruṣam ||
apy aparvaṇi bhajyeta na named iha kasya cit ||
iti mātaṅgavacanaṃ parīpsanti hitepsavaḥ ||
dharmāya caiva praṇamed brāhmaṇebhyaś ca madvidhaḥ ||
"'And this is our chief dharma, O Janardana, the dharma of the kshatriyas: that we should lie down in battle upon a bed of arrows. If in combat we attain the hero's couch without having bowed to our enemies, that will not torment us, O Madhava. Who, born into a noble lineage and living by the kshatriya dharma, would bow to anyone here out of fear, having considered such a way of life? One must rise up, not bow down: effort itself is manhood. Even should one break at an unfitting moment, one must not bow to anyone here. Such is the word of Matanga, which those who desire their welfare seek; one such as I bows only for the sake of dharma and before brahmins.'"
85d7b7fcbe90 · प्रकाशित 17 जुल॰ 2026, 5:51:08 am UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
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.