Shloka 24
उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय ५४: दुर्योधनस्य धृतराष्ट्रं प्रति बलप्रशंसन-युक्तः आश्वासनवादः
Duryodhana’s Reassurance and Force-Praise to Dhritarashtra
अस्मान् पुनरमी नाद्य समर्था जेतुमाहवे । छिन्नपक्षा: परे हाद्य वीर्यहीनाश्ष पाण्डवा:,इन अमिततेजस्वी भीष्म आदिने उसी समय युद्धमें हमारा साथ देनेका दृढ़ निश्चय कर लिया था। पहले यह सारी पृथ्वी हमारे शत्रुओंके काबूमें थी, किंतु अब हमारे हाथमें आ गयी है। हमारे ये शत्रु अब हमें युद्धमें जीतनेकी शक्ति नहीं रखते। सहायकोंके अभावमें पाण्डव पंख कटे हुए पक्षीके समान असहाय एवं पराक्रमशून्य हो गये हैं
asmān punar amī nādya samarthā jetum āhave | chinnapakṣāḥ pare hādya vīryahīnāś ca pāṇḍavāḥ ||
Duryodhana said: “These men are no longer capable, today, of defeating us in battle. The Pāṇḍavas have become like birds with their wings cut off—bereft of support, helpless, and drained of martial power.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse illustrates how pride and strategic confidence can harden into contempt for opponents. Ethically, it warns that judging dharma and outcomes solely by perceived strength and alliances can lead to reckless decisions and moral blindness.
In Udyoga Parva’s pre-war negotiations and preparations, Duryodhana boasts that the Pāṇḍavas have lost effective support and therefore cannot defeat the Kauravas in battle, using the image of wing-clipped birds to emphasize their supposed helplessness.