Shloka 45
द्वैपायनह्रदे दुर्योधनान्वेषणम् / The Search for Duryodhana at Dvaipāyana Lake
(यस्य मूर्थाभिषिक्तानां सहस्नं मणिमौलिनाम् । आह्वत्य च करं सर्व स्वस्य वै वशमागतम् ।।
yasya mūrdhābhiṣiktānāṃ sahasraṃ maṇimaulinām | āhṛtya ca karaṃ sarve svasya vai vaśam āgatam || catuḥsāgaraparyantā pṛthivī ratnabhūṣitā | karṇenaikena yasyārthe karam āhāritā purā || yasyājñā pararāṣṭreṣu karṇeneva prasāritā | nābhavad yasya śastreṣu khedo rājñaḥ praśāsataḥ || āsīno hāstinapure kṣemaṃ rājyam akaṇṭakam | anvapālayad aiśvaryāt kuberaṃ api nāsmarat || bhavanād bhavanaṃ rājan prayātuḥ pṛthivīpate | devālayapraveśe ca panthā yasya hiraṇmayaḥ || ārūhya airāvataprakhyaṃ nāgam indrasamo balī | vibhūtyā sumahatyā yaḥ prayāti pṛthivīpatiḥ || taṃ bhṛśakṣatam indrābhaṃ padabhyām eva dharātale | tiṣṭhantam ekaṃ dṛṣṭvā tu mamābhūt kleśa uttamaḥ || tasya caivaṃvidhasyāsya jagannāthasya bhūpateḥ | vipad apratimābhūd yā balīyān vidhir eva hi || tato 'smai tad ahaṃ sarvam uktavān grahaṇaṃ tadā | dvaipāyanaprasādāc ca jīvato mokṣam āhave ||
Sañjaya said: “He for whom thousands of consecrated kings, their heads crowned with jeweled diadems, brought tribute and accepted subordination; for whose sake Karṇa alone once collected taxes from this jewel-adorned earth bounded by the four seas; whose command Karṇa spread among rival realms; who, while ruling, never had to weary himself by taking up weapons; who, seated in Hastināpura, protected a secure, thornless kingdom and, through sheer splendor, made even Kubera seem forgettable; for whom, O king, golden pathways were laid from house to house and even into temples; who, Indra-like in strength, would ride an elephant like Airāvata and travel with immense magnificence— “When I saw that same Indra-bright Duryodhana, grievously wounded, standing alone on the bare earth on his own feet, I was overwhelmed with anguish. For such a mighty lord of the world to meet a calamity without parallel shows that Fate alone is the stronger. “Then I told him everything—how I had been captured, and how, by the grace of Dvaipāyana (Vyāsa), I was released alive from the battle.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Worldly sovereignty—tribute, wealth, and ceremonial grandeur—cannot shield anyone from reversal; the passage underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring insight that ‘vidhi’ (destiny/time) can overpower even the most exalted ruler, urging humility and detachment from pride in power.
Sañjaya describes Duryodhana’s former imperial magnificence—kings paying tribute, Karṇa enforcing his authority, golden pathways, elephant processions—and contrasts it with the present scene: Duryodhana stands alone and badly wounded on the ground. Moved by grief, Sañjaya then reports that he told Duryodhana how he had been captured and later spared alive through Vyāsa’s grace.