Shloka 5

Sundopasundayor Digvijayaḥ — The Conquests of Sunda and Upasunda

Nārada’s Account

Devanagari script

दुर्योधन यथा राज्यं त्वमिदं तात पश्यसि । मम पैतृकमित्येवं तेडपि पश्यन्ति पाण्डवा:,तात दुर्योधन! जैसे तुम इस राज्यको अपनी पैतृक सम्पत्तिके रूपमें देखते हो, उसी प्रकार पाण्डव भी देखते हैं

Transliteration

duryodhana yathā rājyaṃ tvam idaṃ tāta paśyasi | mama paitṛkam ity evaṃ te 'pi paśyanti pāṇḍavāḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: „O Duryodhana, mein Kind, so wie du dieses Reich als dein angestammtes Erbe betrachtest, ebenso betrachten es die Pāṇḍavas als das ihre. Darum halte ihren Anspruch nicht für unrechtmäßig; erkenne, dass der Streit zwischen gleichberechtigten Erben steht und mit Gerechtigkeit und Selbstbeherrschung zu führen ist.“

Word by Word

दुर्योधनO Duryodhana

यथाas, just as

राज्यम्kingdom, realm

त्वम्you

इदम्this

तातO dear (son), O child

पश्यसिyou see, you regard

ममof me, my

पैतृकम्paternal, ancestral

इतिthus (quotative)

एवम्in this manner

तेthey (those)

अपिalso, even

पश्यन्तिthey see, they regard

पाण्डवाःthe Pandavas

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Duryodhana

Pāṇḍavas

rājya (the kingdom)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma urges ethical clarity: if Duryodhana considers the kingdom his ancestral right, he must acknowledge the Pāṇḍavas’ identical ancestral claim. Dharma here is fairness toward equal heirs and restraint in possessiveness.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Adi Parva’s counsel context, Bhīṣma addresses Duryodhana directly, reminding him that the Pāṇḍavas view the kingdom as their paternal inheritance too, thereby framing the conflict as a shared-rights dispute rather than a one-sided entitlement.