Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 31
Bhīma–Duryodhana Gadāyuddha Saṃkalpa
Resolve for the Mace Duel
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत शल्यपर्वके अन्तर्गत गदापवरमें दुर्योधन-युधिष्ठिरसंवादविषयक इकतीसवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
gadāyā tvāṃ mahābāho vijeṣyāmi sahānujam | mahābāho! gadayā bhātr̥bhiḥ saha tvāṃ pāñcālān sṛñjayāṃś ca ye cānye tava sainikāḥ tān api sarvān jayiṣyāmi | yudhiṣṭhira! mamendra-samād api kadācana na bhayaṃ bhavati ||
Duryodhana declared to Yudhiṣṭhira, with the swagger of a warrior drunk on pride: “O mighty-armed one, with my mace I will defeat you together with your brothers. With this mace I will also overcome the Pāñcālas, the Sṛñjayas, and all the other troops who stand with you. Yudhiṣṭhira, I never feel fear—even of Indra.” The speech casts the duel not as a measured contest of dharma but as a boast of dominance, showing how arrogance and contempt for rightful restraint drive the war’s final violence.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how unchecked pride (mada) and contempt for limits distort a warrior’s duty: instead of humility and adherence to fair conduct, the speaker elevates personal dominance and fearlessness into a moral claim. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical frame, such boasting often signals inner blindness and the approach of ruin.
In the lead-up to the climactic mace-fight, Duryodhana addresses Yudhiṣṭhira with a threat: he will defeat him and his brothers and crush their allies (Pāñcālas and Sṛñjayas), claiming he fears not even Indra. The exchange intensifies the tension before the decisive duel.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.