Mahabharata 9.32.4 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 32, Shloka 4
Bhīma–Duryodhana Gadāyuddha Saṃkalpa
Resolve for the Mace Duel
अभिमानी होनेके कारण जिसके मनमें अपने छत्रकी छाया और सूर्यकी प्रभा भी खेद ही उत्पन्न करती थी, वह ऐसी कठोर बातें कैसे सह सकता था? ।।
iyaṃ ca pṛthivī sarvā samlecchāṭavikā bhṛśam | prasādād priyate yasya pratyakṣaṃ tava saṃjaya ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “And this entire earth—crowded with Mlecchas and forest-dwelling tribes—was sustained and kept in order by the favor of the one whose power you yourself witnessed, Saṃjaya. How could a man so proud, to whom even the shade of his own royal parasol and the brilliance of the sun felt burdensome, endure such harsh words?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power and political stability can rest on a ruler’s patronage, but pride makes one fragile: a proud king who cannot bear even symbolic burdens (parasol’s shade, the sun’s glare) is unlikely to endure humiliation or harsh speech. The passage contrasts outward sovereignty with inner self-mastery, implying that true strength includes the capacity to bear rebuke and adversity.
Yudhiṣṭhira addresses Saṃjaya, reminding him that he personally witnessed how the whole realm—including frontier peoples and forest tribes—was maintained under Duryodhana’s influence/favor. He uses this to question how such a proud and hard-natured person could tolerate severe words or affronts, underscoring Duryodhana’s temperament and the tensions driving the conflict.
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