Shloka 20
भीष्मस्य सेनापत्यप्रतिज्ञा तथा रथसंख्यावर्णनम् | Bhishma Accepts Command and Enumerates Kaurava Strength
“दुर्योधन! तू अभिमान, दर्प, क्रोध, कटुभाषण, निष्ठरता, अहंकार, आत्मप्रशंसा, क्रूरता, तीक्ष्णता, धर्मविद्वेष, अधर्म, अतिवाद, वृद्ध पुरुषोंक अपमान तथा टेढ़ी आँखोंसे देखनेका और अपने समस्त अन्याय एवं अत्याचारोंका घोर फल शीघ्र ही देखेगा ।।
duryodhana! tvaṁ abhimāna-darpa-krodha-kaṭu-bhāṣaṇa-niṣṭhuratā-ahaṅkāra-ātma-praśaṁsā-krūratā-tīkṣṇatā-dharma-dveṣa-adharma-ativāda-vṛddha-puruṣa-apamāna-vakra-dṛṣṭi-sarva-anyāya-atyācārāṇāṁ ghoraṁ phalaṁ śīghram eva drakṣyasi. vāsudeva-dvitīye hi mayi kruddhe narādhama, āśā te jīvite mūḍha rājye vā kena hetunā?
Sañjaya said: “Duryodhana, you will soon behold the dreadful consequence of your pride, arrogance, anger, harsh speech, cruelty, hard-heartedness, egotism, self-praise, savagery, sharpness, hatred of dharma, unrighteous conduct, boastful excess, contempt for elders, your crooked, hostile gaze—and indeed of all your injustices and oppressions. And when I am enraged, with Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa) standing as my second, you deluded wretch—on what grounds do you still hope for life, or for a kingdom?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Unrighteous traits—pride, cruelty, contempt for elders, hatred of dharma, and oppression—ripen into inevitable and near consequences. Power and kingship cannot be secured by adharma; when righteous force is allied with Kṛṣṇa (Vāsudeva), the deluded aggressor’s hopes for survival and rule become groundless.
Sañjaya delivers a sharp admonition to Duryodhana, listing the vices that have driven his injustices and predicting their imminent, dreadful outcome. He then intensifies the warning by invoking Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa) as the decisive support on the opposing side, challenging Duryodhana’s expectation of retaining life or kingdom.