Shloka 26
Udyoga Parva, Adhyāya 72 — Bhīmasena’s counsel on conciliation and Duryodhana’s disposition
ईषत् कार्यो वधस्तस्य यस्य चारित्रमीदृशम् | प्रस्कन्देन प्रतिस्तब्धश्छिन्नमूल इव द्रुम:
īṣat kāryo vadhastasya yasya cāritram īdṛśam | praskandena pratistabdhaś chinnamūla iva drumaḥ |
Yudhiṣṭhira sprach: „Einen zu töten, dessen Wandel so beschaffen ist, ist wahrlich eine leichte Aufgabe. Wie ein Baum, dem die Wurzeln abgeschnitten sind und der nur noch durch eine Stütze aufrecht steht, so wird auch Duryodhana nicht lange brauchen, bis er fällt.“
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links political fate to ethical character: when conduct is corrupt, downfall becomes inevitable—like a root-cut tree that may appear standing only because it is temporarily propped up.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war deliberations, Yudhiṣṭhira comments on Duryodhana’s degraded conduct and predicts that his collapse is near, using the image of a tree standing only by external support after its roots are cut.