Shloka 31
Śakuni–Duryodhana-saṃvāda: Dyūta-yojanā (Śakuni and Duryodhana on Planning the Dice-Game)
इच्छत: सा हि सिंहस्य भीष्म जीवत्यसंशयम् | तद्वत् त्वमप्यधर्मिष्ठ सदा वाच: प्रभाषसे,निःसंदेह सिंहकी इच्छासे ही वह अबतक जी रही है। पापी भीष्म! इसी प्रकार तुम भी सदा बढ़-बढ़कर बातें करते हो
icchataḥ sā hi siṁhasya bhīṣma jīvati asaṁśayam | tadvat tvam apy adharmiṣṭha sadā vācaḥ prabhāṣase ||
Śiśupāla said: “Bhīṣma, it is beyond doubt that she still lives only because the lion so wills it. In the same way, you too—most unrighteous—keep speaking lofty, overbearing words again and again.”
शिशुपाल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how power and protection can enable continued existence and bold speech; it also illustrates the ethical danger of arrogance and abusive rhetoric in a royal assembly, where dharma should guide discourse.
In the royal court setting of the Sabha Parva, Śiśupāla is delivering a hostile speech and directly insults Bhīṣma, comparing someone’s survival to being spared by a lion’s whim and accusing Bhīṣma of constantly making overbearing pronouncements.