Shloka 2
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 130: Kuntī’s Instruction on Rājadharma and Daṇḍanīti
एको<5हमिति यन्मोहान्मन्यसे मां सुयोधन । परिभूय सुद्दुर्बुद्धे ग्रहीतुं मां चिकीर्षसि
eko 'ham iti yan mohān manyase māṁ suyodhana | paribhūya sudurbuddhe grahītuṁ māṁ cikīrṣasi ||
You think, deluded, ‘He is alone,’ O Suyodhana. And so, O ill‑counselled one, you seek to seize me after treating me with contempt—this is the blindness of your understanding.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Delusion and arrogance distort judgment: mistaking a great power for something small (‘he is alone’) leads to unethical action—contempt and attempted coercion—revealing flawed counsel (dur-buddhi) and moral blindness.
In the tense pre-war diplomacy of the Udyoga Parva, Duryodhana, driven by pride and miscalculation, considers seizing Krishna; the verse rebukes him for thinking Krishna is ‘alone’ and for attempting to capture him after insulting him.