Shloka 23
Adhyāya 48 — Duryodhana’s Account of Tribute and the Provisioned Court (सभा पर्व, अध्याय ४८)
दुर्योधन! तुम ये सारी बातें पिताजीसे कहो। उनकी आज्ञा मिल जानेपर मैं निःसंदेह पाण्डवोंको जीत लूँगा ।। दुर्योधन उवाच त्वमेव कुरुमुख्याय धृतराष्ट्राय सौबल । निवेदय यथान्यायं नाहं शक्ष्ये निवेदितुम्,दुर्योधनने कहा--सुबलनन्दन! आप ही कुरुकुलके प्रधान महाराज धृतराष्ट्रसे इन सब बातोंको यथोचित रूपसे कहिये। मैं स्वयं कुछ नहीं कह सकूँगा
duryodhana uvāca | tvam eva kurumukhyāya dhṛtarāṣṭrāya saubala | nivedaya yathānyāyaṃ nāhaṃ śakṣye niveditum ||
Duryodhana said: “Saubala, you yourself should convey all this, in the proper manner, to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, the foremost of the Kurus. I will not be able to present it myself.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how political actors may use ‘proper procedure’ and intermediaries to legitimize questionable aims, while also deflecting personal accountability—an ethical tension between outward propriety (nyāya) and inner intention.
Duryodhana instructs Saubala (Śakuni) to present their case to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra. He claims he cannot convey it himself, indicating reliance on Śakuni’s persuasive skill and a strategic move to secure royal approval for actions against the Pāṇḍavas.