Shloka 306
Bhīma–Duryodhana Gadāyuddha Saṃkalpa
Resolve for the Mace Duel
युद्धानामपि पर्यायो भवत्वनुमते तव | मनुष्य बारी-बारीसे एक-एक अस्त्रका प्रयोग करना चाहते हैं; परंतु आज तुम्हारी अनुमतिसे युद्ध भी क्रमश: एक-एक योद्धाके साथ ही हो
yuddhānām api paryāyo bhavatv anumate tava |
Duryodhana said: “Let there be an orderly turn-taking even in the fighting, with your consent. Just as men wish to employ their weapons one by one in succession, so too—by your permission—let the battle proceed in sequence, warrior against warrior.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid total war, Duryodhana appeals to regulated combat—turn-taking and single-warrior engagements—invoking a notion of kshatriya propriety where violence is constrained by agreed rules, though the epic repeatedly tests and exposes the fragility of such ethical claims.
In Shalya Parva, Duryodhana addresses his charioteer/commander (Shalya) and asks for consent to conduct the fighting in an orderly sequence—one warrior at a time—framing the battle as a regulated contest rather than a chaotic melee.