Shloka 54
Dvaipāyana-hrade Duryodhanasya Māyā — Yudhiṣṭhirasya Dharmoktiḥ (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 30)
द्वैपायन ह्दं घोरं यत्र दुर्योधनो5भवत् । महाराज! तत्पश्चात् प्रतापी धर्मराज युधिष्ठिर उस भयंकर द्वैपायनह्दके तटपर जा पहुँचे, जिसके भीतर दुर्योधन छिपा हुआ था || ५३ $ ।।
sañjaya uvāca | dvaipāyana-hradaṃ ghoraṃ yatra duryodhano 'bhavat | mahārāja! tatpaścāt pratāpī dharmarājo yudhiṣṭhiraḥ taṃ bhayaṅkaraṃ dvaipāyana-hradaṃ taṭaṃ prāpa, yasya madhye duryodhanaḥ pracchannaḥ | śītāmala-jalaṃ hṛdyaṃ dvitīyam iva sāgaram | tasya jalaṃ śītalaṃ nirmalaṃ ca; sa darśane manoharaḥ, dvitīya-sāgara-sadṛśaḥ vipulaḥ | bhārata! tasyaiva madhye māyayā jalaṃ stambhayitvā daiva-yogena adbhuta-vidhinā tava putro viśrāmaṃ cakāra |
Sañjaya said: “O King, thereafter the valiant Dharmarāja Yudhiṣṭhira reached the bank of the dreadful lake called Dvaipāyana—within which Duryodhana was hiding. Its waters were cool and crystal-clear, pleasing to behold, and the lake spread vast like a second ocean. O descendant of Bharata, there—by magical art, with the water held motionless, and through a wondrous dispensation of fate—your son was resting within the lake.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage contrasts dharmic pursuit with evasive concealment: Yudhiṣṭhira advances openly toward resolution, while Duryodhana seeks refuge through māyā and an extraordinary, fate-driven circumstance. It highlights how adharma often depends on concealment and contrivance, whereas dharma proceeds with clarity and accountability.
After the battle’s climactic events, Yudhiṣṭhira arrives at the fearsome Dvaipāyana lake. Duryodhana is hidden within it, resting underwater by a magical immobilization of the water, described as occurring through a wondrous turn of fate.