Shloka 8
Śakuni–Duryodhana-saṃvāda: Dyūta-yojanā (Śakuni and Duryodhana on Planning the Dice-Game)
दरदं स्तुहि बाह्लीकमिमं पार्थिवसत्तमम् | जायमानेन येनेयमभवद् दारिता मही,ये दरददेशके राजा हैं, इनकी स्तुति करो। ये भूमिपालोंमें श्रेष्ठ बाह्नीक बैठे हैं, इनके गुण गाओ। इन्होंने जन्म लेते ही अपने शरीरके भारसे इस पृथ्वीको विदीर्ण कर दिया था
Daradaṁ stuhi Bāhlīkam imaṁ pārthiva-sattamam | jāyamānena yeneyam abhavad dāritā mahī ||
Śiśupāla said: “Praise Darada, and praise this Bāhlīka, the finest among kings. Sing his virtues—he by whose very birth this earth was said to have been split asunder.”
शिशुपाल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse illustrates how speech can be ethically ambiguous: praise (stuti) may be offered sincerely to honor virtue, or weaponized as sarcasm to belittle others. In the Sabha’s charged political setting, Śiśupāla’s exaggerated commendation functions as an attack, highlighting the moral risk of flattery and the power of rhetoric to inflame conflict.
During the royal assembly, Śiśupāla speaks provocatively. He calls for praising Darada and Bāhlīka and attributes to Bāhlīka a hyperbolic feat—splitting the earth at birth—using overstatement to mock the atmosphere of public adulation and to challenge the honor being distributed in the सभा.