Shloka 19
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Duryodhana Saṃvāda on Restraint and Rājānīti
Chapter 50
सर्वा च पृथिवीं चैव युधिष्ठिरवशानुगाम् । स्थिरो5स्मि यो5हं जीवामि दुःखादेतद् ब्रवीमि ते
sarvā ca pṛthivīṃ caiva yudhiṣṭhiravaśānugām | sthiro 'smi yo 'haṃ jīvāmi duḥkhād etad bravīmi te ||
قال دُريودَهَنَة: «لقد خضعت الأرض كلّها حقّاً لسلطان يودهيشثيرا وصارت تسير على مشيئته. ومع ذلك أبقى صلباً كالصخر لا أتهدّم—وعجيبٌ أنني ما زلت حيّاً—إذ عِظَمُ حزني هكذا؛ وحتى في هذا الأسى أنطق بهذه الكلمات لك.»
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how envy and wounded pride can make a person interpret another’s rightful success as unbearable personal loss. Ethically, it warns that inner vices—especially jealousy—distort judgment and prevent acceptance, gratitude, and self-restraint.
In the aftermath of Yudhiṣṭhira’s rise in power and prestige, Duryodhana voices his anguish and resentment, emphasizing that even though Yudhiṣṭhira now commands the whole realm, he (Duryodhana) remains grimly alive and speaking despite the pain—signaling the brewing hostility that will later drive the conflict.