Shloka 9
उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय ५४: दुर्योधनस्य धृतराष्ट्रं प्रति बलप्रशंसन-युक्तः आश्वासनवादः
Duryodhana’s Reassurance and Force-Praise to Dhritarashtra
भरतश्रेष्ठ) उनके इस निश्चयको सुनकर मैंने कुटुम्बीजनोंके वधकी आशंकासे भयभीत हो भीष्म, द्रोण और कृपाचार्यसे इस प्रकार निवेदन किया--“तात! मुझे ऐसा प्रतीत होता है कि पाण्डवलोग अपनी प्रतिज्ञापर स्थिर नहीं रहेंगे; क्योंकि वसुदेवनन्दन श्रीकृष्ण हम सब लोगोंका पूर्णतः विनाश कर डालना चाहते हैं ।। ऋते च विदुरात् सर्वे यूयं वध्या मता मम । धृतराष्ट्रस्तु धर्मज्ञो न वध्य: कुरुसत्तम:,“केवल विदुरजीको छोड़कर आप सब लोग मार डालनेके योग्य समझे गये हैं, यह बात मुझे मालूम हुई है। कुरुश्रेष्ठ धृतराष्ट्र धर्मज्ञ हैं, यह सोचकर उनका भी वध नहीं किया जायगा
bharataśreṣṭha! tasyaiva niścayasya śrutvāhaṁ kuluṃbijanānāṁ vadhāśaṅkayā bhayabhītaḥ bhīṣma-droṇa-kṛpācāryān evaṁ nyavedayam— “tāta! me pratibhāti pāṇḍavāḥ pratijñāyāṁ na sthāsyanti; yataḥ vasudevanandanaḥ śrīkṛṣṇo ’smān sarvān samūlaṁ vināśayitum icchati. ṛte ca vidurāt sarve yūyaṁ vadhyā matā mama; dhṛtarāṣṭras tu dharmajño na vadhyaḥ kurusattamaḥ.”
O best of the Bharatas, hearing of that resolve, I—alarmed at the prospect of slaughter among our own kinsmen—approached Bhīṣma, Droṇa, and Kṛpa and submitted: “Father, it seems to me the Pāṇḍavas will not remain firm in their pledge, for Kṛṣṇa, the son of Vasudeva, wishes to bring about the complete destruction of all of us. Except for Vidura, all of you have been judged—so I have learned—as fit to be slain. But Dhṛtarāṣṭra, being a knower of dharma, should not be killed, O best of the Kurus.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how fear and political paranoia can distort ethical judgment: Duryodhana interprets Kṛṣṇa’s involvement as a threat of total annihilation and frames pre-emptive violence as justified, yet he still invokes dharma selectively—exempting Vidura and Dhṛtarāṣṭra—showing how dharma can be appealed to even amid escalating conflict.
Duryodhana reports that, after hearing a certain resolve, he anxiously approaches the senior Kuru elders—Bhīṣma, Droṇa, and Kṛpa—claiming the Pāṇḍavas will not keep their pledge and that Kṛṣṇa intends the complete ruin of the Kauravas. He says he has learned that all the elders except Vidura are marked for death, while Dhṛtarāṣṭra should be spared because he is dharma-knowing.