Shloka 8
Śakuni–Duryodhana-saṃvāda: Dyūta-yojanā (Śakuni and Duryodhana on Planning the Dice-Game)
दरदं स्तुहि बाह्लीकमिमं पार्थिवसत्तमम् | जायमानेन येनेयमभवद् दारिता मही
Daradaṁ stuhi Bāhlīkam imaṁ pārthiva-sattamam | jāyamānena yeneyam abhavad dāritā mahī ||
Śiśupāla sprach: „Preise Darada und preise diesen Bāhlīka, den Besten unter den Königen. Besinge seine Tugenden—von dem man sagt, dass er schon bei seiner Geburt diese Erde durch das Gewicht seines Leibes spaltete.“
शिशुपाल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse illustrates how speech can be ethically ambiguous: praise (stuti) may be offered sincerely to honor virtue, or weaponized as sarcasm to belittle others. In the Sabha’s charged political setting, Śiśupāla’s exaggerated commendation functions as an attack, highlighting the moral risk of flattery and the power of rhetoric to inflame conflict.
During the royal assembly, Śiśupāla speaks provocatively. He calls for praising Darada and Bāhlīka and attributes to Bāhlīka a hyperbolic feat—splitting the earth at birth—using overstatement to mock the atmosphere of public adulation and to challenge the honor being distributed in the सभा.