Shloka 1
/ ऑपन-माज बछ। -्:डि सप्तचत्वारिशो<्ध्याय: दुर्योधनका मयनिर्मित सभाभवनको देखना और पग- पगपर भ्रमके कारण उपहासका पात्र बनना तथा युधिष्टिरके वैभवको देखकर उसका चिन्तित होना वैशम्पायन उवाच वसन् दुर्योधनस्तस्यां सभायां पुरुषर्षभ । शनैर्ददर्श तां सर्वां सभां शकुनिना सह,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--नरश्रेष्ठ जनमेजय! राजा दुर्योधनने उस सभाभवनमें निवास करते समय शकुनिके साथ धीरे-धीरे उस सारी सभाका निरीक्षण किया
vaiśampāyana uvāca | vasan duryodhanas tasyāṃ sabhāyāṃ puruṣarṣabha | śanair dadarśa tāṃ sarvāṃ sabhāṃ śakuninā saha ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Janamejaya, best of men, while staying in that assembly hall, King Duryodhana, together with Śakuni, slowly surveyed the entire sabhā.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse initiates a moral contrast: outward magnificence and order can provoke either admiration and self-restraint or, in a mind ruled by pride and envy, agitation that leads to unethical choices. It foreshadows how unchecked jealousy becomes a cause of downfall.
Duryodhana, accompanied by his uncle Śakuni, walks through and carefully inspects the grand assembly hall. This inspection precedes the famous sequence where he becomes confused by the hall’s illusions and, seeing the Pāṇḍavas’ prosperity, grows distressed and resentful.