Shloka 28
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Duryodhana Saṃvāda on Restraint and Rājānīti
Chapter 50
शिशुपाल इवास्माकं गति: स्याज्नात्र संशय: । सपत्नेनावहासो मे स मां दहति भारत,उस समय वहाँ यदि मैं समर्थ होता तो भीमसेनको वहीं मार गिराता। राजन! यदि मैं भीमसेनको मारनेका उद्योग करता तो मेरी भी शिशुपालकी-सी ही दशा हो जाती; इसमें संशय नहीं है। भारत! शत्रुके द्वारा किया हुआ उपहास मुझे दग्ध किये देता है
śiśupāla ivāsmākaṃ gatiḥ syāj jñātra saṃśayaḥ | sapatnenāvahāso me sa māṃ dahati bhārata ||
Duryodhana said: “Our fate would be like that of Śiśupāla—know this without doubt. The mockery dealt to me by my rival burns me, O Bhārata.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Unchecked pride and fixation on insult become self-consuming; Duryodhana’s sense of wounded honor turns ridicule into inner fire, pushing him toward destructive choices rather than restraint.
In the aftermath of the Pandavas’ success and the tensions of the royal assembly, Duryodhana confesses that his rival’s mockery torments him; he fears that any rash attempt at retaliation would end like Śiśupāla’s—swiftly and disastrously.