Shloka 17
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Duryodhana Saṃvāda on Restraint and Rājānīti
Chapter 50
दुर्योधन उवाच अक्षाम्याच्छादयामीति प्रपश्यन् पापपूरुष: । नामर्ष कुरुते यस्तु पुरुष: सो5धम: स्मृत:,दुर्योधन बोला--मैं अच्छा खाता हूँ और अच्छा पहिनता हूँ, इतना ही देखते हुए जो पापी पुरुष शत्रुओंके प्रति ईर्ष्या नहीं करता, वह अधम बताया गया है
duryodhana uvāca: akṣāmya ācchādayāmīti prapaśyan pāpapuruṣaḥ | nāmarṣaṃ kurute yas tu puruṣaḥ so 'dhamaḥ smṛtaḥ ||
Duryodhana said: “Seeing only that (another) eats well and dresses well, the sinful man who does not feel resentment toward his enemies is regarded as the lowest of men.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a deliberate moral inversion: Duryodhana treats envy and hostility toward rivals as a mark of manliness, calling the absence of resentment ‘base.’ It reveals his adharma-driven worldview, where competitiveness and spite are normalized as virtues.
In the courtly context of the Sabha Parva, Duryodhana is voicing his inner attitude toward prosperity and rivalry—fixating on others’ visible enjoyment (good food and clothing) and insisting that a ‘proper’ man must resent enemies. This frames his jealousy and antagonism that fuel later conflict.