Shloka 41
Adhyāya 52 (Sabhā-parva): Vidura Invites Yudhiṣṭhira to Hastināpura for the Dice Match
शत्रूणां पश्यतो दु:खान्मुमूर्षा मे व्यजायत । भृत्यास्तु ये पाण्डवानां तांस्ते वक्ष्यामि पार्थिव
śatrūṇāṃ paśyato duḥkhān mumūrṣā me vyajāyata | bhṛtyās tu ye pāṇḍavānāṃ tāṃs te vakṣyāmi pārthiva ||
Duryodhana sprach: „Als ich das Leiden meiner Feinde mit eigenen Augen sah, erwachte in mir der Wunsch zu sterben. O König, nun will ich dir von jenen Dienern und Gefolgsleuten berichten, die den Pāṇḍavas zugehören.“
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how fixation on an enemy’s suffering can corrode one’s own mind: even perceived triumph can generate inner collapse (mumūrṣā). Ethically, it points to the self-destructive nature of envy and vindictiveness, where the observer becomes harmed by the very hatred he nurtures.
Duryodhana, speaking to a kingly figure in the courtly setting of the Sabha narrative, confesses that seeing his rivals’ distress stirred a death-wish in him, and then transitions to a strategic report: he will enumerate the Pāṇḍavas’ supporters/retainers—information relevant to political maneuvering and future conflict.