Shloka 4
संजयने कहा--राजन्! सुनिये। नरेश्वर! उस भारी संकटमें पड़ जानेपर टूटी जाँघवाले राजा दुर्योधनने जो कुछ कहा था, वह सब वृत्तान्त यथार्थरूपसे बता रहा हूँ ।।
sañjaya uvāca—rājan śṛṇu. nareśvara! tasmin mahati saṅkaṭe patite bhagnasaktho nṛpo duryodhanaḥ yad avadat tat sarvaṃ vṛttāntaṃ yathārthataḥ kathayiṣyāmi. bhagnasaktho nṛpo rājan pāṃsunā soḍhavagūṇṭhitaḥ | yamayan mūrdhajāṃs tatra vīkṣya caiva diśo daśa garhayan pāṇḍavaṃ jyeṣṭhaṃ niḥśvasped athābravīt ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, listen. O lord of men, having fallen into that grievous calamity, King Duryodhana—his thighs shattered—spoke certain words; I shall relate that entire account truthfully. With his thighs broken, the king lay on the ground, smeared and covered with dust. Gathering up his dishevelled hair, he looked about in all ten directions. Then, censuring the eldest of the Pāṇḍavas, he heaved a bitter sigh and began to speak—his breath harsh, his mind inflamed by rage and humiliation.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical aftermath of war: even a king’s power collapses into vulnerability, and unresolved pride turns into blame and bitterness. Sañjaya’s insistence on truthful reporting underscores a dharmic ideal—facing events as they are—while Duryodhana’s reviling of the righteous points to how adharma culminates in humiliation and resentment rather than clarity.
After the mace-fight, Duryodhana lies on the ground with shattered thighs, covered in dust. He gathers his hair, looks in all directions, sighs heavily, and begins speaking while censuring the eldest Pāṇḍava (Yudhiṣṭhira). Sañjaya narrates these details to Dhṛtarāṣṭra as part of his eyewitness-style report.