Shloka 11
उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय ५४: दुर्योधनस्य धृतराष्ट्रं प्रति बलप्रशंसन-युक्तः आश्वासनवादः
Duryodhana’s Reassurance and Force-Praise to Dhritarashtra
“तात! श्रीकृष्ण हमारा सर्वनाश करके कौरवोंका एक राज्य बनाकर उसे युधिष्ठिरको सौंपना चाहते हैं ।। तत्र किं प्राप्तकालं न: प्रणिपात: पलायनम् । प्राणान् वा सम्परित्यज्य प्रतियुध्यामहे परान्,'ऐसी अवस्थामें इस समय हमारा कया कर्तव्य है? हम उनके चरणोंपर गिरें, पीठ दिखाकर भाग जायाँ अथवा प्राणोंका मोह छोड़कर शत्रुओंका सामना करें
tāta! śrīkṛṣṇo ’smākaṃ sarvanāśaṃ kṛtvā kauravāṇām ekaṃ rājyaṃ kṛtvā tad yudhiṣṭhirāya samarpayitum icchati. tatra kiṃ prāptakālaṃ naḥ praṇipātaḥ palāyanam prāṇān vā samparityajya pratiyudhyāmahe parān?
Duryodhana says: “Father, Krishna wishes to bring about our total ruin—reducing the Kauravas to a single kingdom and then handing even that over to Yudhishthira. In such a situation, what is the right course for us now: to fall at their feet in submission, to turn our backs and flee, or, casting aside attachment to life, to stand and fight the enemy?”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a crisis of choice—submission, retreat, or battle—highlighting how fear, pride, and political ambition can distort ethical judgment. It also foregrounds the kṣatriya dilemma: whether preserving life and kingdom justifies compromise, or whether honor and resistance are treated as paramount even when the cause is morally compromised.
In Udyoga Parva, as negotiations and Krishna’s diplomatic efforts intensify, Duryodhana interprets Krishna’s intent as the destruction of Kaurava power and the transfer of sovereignty to Yudhishthira. He turns to his father Dhṛtarāṣṭra and asks what immediate policy they should adopt—submit, flee, or fight—thereby pushing the court toward the path of war.