Mahabharata 9.31.45 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 31, Shloka 45
गदायुद्धप्रतिज्ञा — The Vow and Terms of the Mace Duel
क्षीणरत्नां च पृथिवीं हतक्षत्रियपुड्रवाम् । न हात्सहाम्यहं भोक्तुं विधवामिव योषितम्
kṣīṇaratnāṃ ca pṛthivīṃ hatakṣatriyapuṅgavām | na hāt sahāmy ahaṃ bhoktuṃ vidhavām iva yoṣitam ||
Duryodhana said: “This earth has been stripped of her treasures, and her foremost kṣatriyas have been slain. I cannot bear to enjoy her—like a woman made a widow—bereft of splendor and protection.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical cost of violent ambition: when power is pursued through destruction, the resulting ‘kingdom’ becomes joyless and morally hollow—like a widowed woman—revealing the futility of sovereignty gained at the price of widespread slaughter.
In the aftermath of catastrophic losses, Duryodhana expresses revulsion at the prospect of ruling. He sees the earth as emptied of wealth and bereft of her greatest warriors, and he confesses that he cannot take pleasure in dominion over such a devastated realm.
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