Shloka 18
दुर्योधनस्य बलिवर्णनम् — Duryodhana’s Description of Tribute at the Rājasūya
महिमान परं चापि पाण्डवानां महात्मनाम् | दुर्योधनो धार्तराष्ट्रो विवर्ण: समपद्यत
vaiśampāyana uvāca | mahimānaṁ paraṁ cāpi pāṇḍavānāṁ mahātmanām | duryodhano dhārtarāṣṭro vivarṇaḥ samapadyata, kuruśreṣṭha |
Vaiśampāyana sprach: O Bester der Kurus! Als er die höchste Größe der großgesinnten Pāṇḍavas sah — ihre freudigen Herzen, alle Könige der Erde unter ihrem Einfluss und die ganze Welt, von Kindern bis zu Greisen, die ihnen Gutes wünschte — da wurde Duryodhana, Dhṛtarāṣṭras Sohn, bleich. Der Vers hebt hervor: Das Gedeihen eines anderen, wenn es mit Neid statt mit Einsicht aufgenommen wird, wird zum Samen inneren Verfalls und künftigen Unrechts.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse illustrates how envy (īrṣyā) distorts perception: the Pāṇḍavas’ legitimate prosperity and universal goodwill should inspire respect or self-improvement, but in Duryodhana it produces inner agitation and loss of balance—an ethical warning about responding to others’ success.
After witnessing the Pāṇḍavas’ rising eminence—public joy, widespread support, and the submission or alignment of many kings—Duryodhana reacts with visible distress, becoming pale. This reaction foreshadows his later hostility and schemes against them.