Shloka 26
Udyoga Parva, Adhyāya 72 — Bhīmasena’s counsel on conciliation and Duryodhana’s disposition
ईषत् कार्यो वधस्तस्य यस्य चारित्रमीदृशम् | प्रस्कन्देन प्रतिस्तब्धश्छिन्नमूल इव द्रुम:
īṣat kāryo vadhastasya yasya cāritram īdṛśam | praskandena pratistabdhaś chinnamūla iva drumaḥ |
قال يودهيشثيرا: «إن قتلَ من كانت سيرتُه على هذا النحو لَأمرٌ يسيرٌ حقًّا. فهو كالشجرة قُطِعت جذورها ولم تبقَ قائمةً إلا بسندٍ يُقيمها؛ وكذلك دوريوذانا لن يلبث طويلًا حتى يهوي.»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links political fate to ethical character: when conduct is corrupt, downfall becomes inevitable—like a root-cut tree that may appear standing only because it is temporarily propped up.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war deliberations, Yudhiṣṭhira comments on Duryodhana’s degraded conduct and predicts that his collapse is near, using the image of a tree standing only by external support after its roots are cut.