Shloka 22
दुर्योधनस्य बलिवर्णनम् — Duryodhana’s Description of Tribute at the Rājasūya
दुर्योधन उवाच दृष्टवेमां पृथिवीं कृत्स्नां युधिष्ठिरवशानुगाम् । जितामस्त्रप्रतापेन श्वेताश्व॒स्य महात्मन:
duryodhana uvāca dṛṣṭavemāṃ pṛthivīṃ kṛtsnāṃ yudhiṣṭhiravaśānugām | jitām astrapratāpena śvetāśvasya mahātmanaḥ ||
Duryodhana sprach: „O Oheim mütterlicherseits, ich habe gesehen, wie die ganze Erde unter Yudhiṣṭhiras Herrschaft geriet—erobert durch die Waffenkraft des großherzigen Arjuna, des Helden mit den weißen Rossen. Wenn ich die Hoheit und den Ruhm sehe, die Yudhiṣṭhira durch Arjunas Tapferkeit gewann, verzehrt mich der Neid; Tag und Nacht brennt mein Geist beim Anblick des gerechten Aufstiegs eines anderen zur Königsherrschaft.“
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how envy (īrṣyā) distorts judgment: instead of recognizing merit and dharma in another’s success, Duryodhana experiences it as personal injury. This inner affliction becomes a seed for unethical choices and conflict.
Duryodhana, speaking to his maternal uncle Śakuni (implied by the address in the prose context), reflects on Yudhiṣṭhira’s growing supremacy—achieved through Arjuna’s martial prowess in subduing kings—setting the emotional groundwork for the hostility that will culminate in the dice-game and later war.