Shloka 15
नास्ति वै जातित:ः शत्रु: पुरुषस्य विशाम्पते । येन साधारणी वृत्ति: स शत्रुर्नेतरो जन:
nāsti vai jātitaḥ śatruḥ puruṣasya viśāmpate | yena sādhāraṇī vṛttiḥ sa śatrur netaro janaḥ ||
Duryodhana said: “O lord of the people, a man has no enemy merely by birth. The one who becomes an enemy is the person whose livelihood and sphere of activity are shared in common with his—those who live by the same means become rivals and, out of jealousy, turn into one another’s enemies; others do not.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Enmity is not innate or determined by birth; it often arises from competition over the same livelihood or social space, where jealousy and rivalry turn peers into adversaries.
In the Sabha Parva context, Duryodhana is speaking in a royal setting, reflecting on the causes of hostility and rivalry—implicitly framing political and personal conflict as driven by competitive interests rather than mere lineage.