Shloka 26
दुर्योधनस्य बलिवर्णनम् — Duryodhana’s Description of Tribute at the Rājasūya
दहामाना हि राजान: पाण्डवोत्थेन वल्नलिना । क्षान्तवन्तो5पराध॑ ते को हि तत् क्षन्तुमहति,पाण्डवजनित आगसे दग्ध होनेवाले राजाओंने वह अपराध क्षमा कर दिया। अन्यथा इतने बड़े अन्यायको कौन सह सकता है?
dahāmānā hi rājānaḥ pāṇḍavotthena vahninā | kṣāntavanto 'parādhaṃ te ko hi tat kṣantum arhati pāṇḍavajanitāgase ||
Duryodhana sagte: „Jene Könige, vom Feuer versengt, das durch die Pāṇḍavas entfacht wurde, haben jene Verfehlung dennoch verziehen. Denn wer könnte sonst—geschweige denn vergeben—ein so großes Unrecht ertragen, wenn die Schuld selbst von den Pāṇḍavas verursacht ist?“
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral weight of kṣamā (forbearance/forgiveness) by noting how extraordinary it is to pardon a grave wrong; at the same time, it shows how ethical language can be weaponized—Duryodhana frames others’ patience as proof of the Pāṇḍavas’ culpability, using ‘forgiveness’ to intensify blame rather than to restore harmony.
In the Sabha Parva’s courtly-political setting, Duryodhana is speaking about other kings who have suffered severe distress—likened to being burned by a fire connected with the Pāṇḍavas—yet have tolerated and forgiven the offence. He uses this to argue that the injustice was extreme and to portray the Pāṇḍavas as the source of the wrongdoing.