Shloka 20
Karṇa’s advance against the Pāṇḍava host; Arjuna’s clash with the Saṃśaptakas (कर्णस्य पाण्डवसेनाप्रवेशः—अर्जुनस्य संशप्तकसंप्रहारः)
गृहप्रवरसम्बाधमसम्बाधमहापथम् | प्रासादैर्विविधैश्लापि द्वारैश्नैवोपशोभितम्
gṛhapravarasambādham asambādhamahāpatham | prāsādair vividhaiś cāpi dvāraiś caiva upaśobhitam | nibodha manasā cātra na te kāryā vicāraṇā |
Duryodhana sprach: „O König von Madra, fasse dies mit festem Sinn; hege keinen Zweifel. Jene Stadt war dicht gedrängt mit vorzüglichen Herrenhäusern, und doch waren ihre großen Straßen breit und ungehindert. Zudem war sie geschmückt mit Palästen vieler Art und mit prächtigen Toren.“
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse illustrates persuasive speech in a royal-war context: the speaker urges the listener to attend carefully and suspend doubt, then supports his point by vivid, concrete description. Ethically, it highlights how authority and confident narration can be used to steer another’s judgment—an important motif in the Mahābhārata’s portrayal of counsel and manipulation.
Duryodhana addresses the Madra king (Śalya), asking him to listen attentively without misgiving, and begins describing a magnificent city—packed with fine houses yet having broad, unobstructed main roads, beautified by varied palaces and gates—as part of a larger illustrative account he is recounting.