Shloka 18
दुर्योधनस्य बलिवर्णनम् — Duryodhana’s Description of Tribute at the Rājasūya
महिमान परं चापि पाण्डवानां महात्मनाम् | दुर्योधनो धार्तराष्ट्रो विवर्ण: समपद्यत,कुरुश्रेष्ठ! यह देखकर कि कुन्तीके पुत्रोंका मन प्रसन्न है, भूमण्डलके सब नरेश उनके वशमें हैं तथा बच्चोंसे लेकर बूढ़ोंतक सारा जगत् उनका हितैषी है, इस प्रकार महात्मा पाण्डवोंकी महिमा अत्यन्त बढ़ी हुई देखकर धृतराष्ट्रपुत्र दुर्योधनका रंग फीका पड़ गया
vaiśampāyana uvāca | mahimānaṁ paraṁ cāpi pāṇḍavānāṁ mahātmanām | duryodhano dhārtarāṣṭro vivarṇaḥ samapadyata, kuruśreṣṭha |
Vaiśampāyana said: Seeing the supreme greatness of the high-souled Pāṇḍavas—how their hearts were joyful, how all the kings of the earth had come under their influence, and how the whole world, from children to the aged, wished them well—Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son Duryodhana grew pale, O best of the Kurus. The verse shows how another’s flourishing, met with envy rather than discernment, becomes the seed of inner collapse and future wrongdoing.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse illustrates how envy (īrṣyā) distorts perception: the Pāṇḍavas’ legitimate prosperity and universal goodwill should inspire respect or self-improvement, but in Duryodhana it produces inner agitation and loss of balance—an ethical warning about responding to others’ success.
After witnessing the Pāṇḍavas’ rising eminence—public joy, widespread support, and the submission or alignment of many kings—Duryodhana reacts with visible distress, becoming pale. This reaction foreshadows his later hostility and schemes against them.