Shloka 57
उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय ५४: दुर्योधनस्य धृतराष्ट्रं प्रति बलप्रशंसन-युक्तः आश्वासनवादः
Duryodhana’s Reassurance and Force-Praise to Dhritarashtra
अभिव्यक्तः परेषां च कृत्स्नो भुवि पराजय: । अह्वा होकेन भीष्मो<यं प्रयुतं हन्ति भारत,भारत! इस पृथ्वीपर मेरे शत्रुओंकी पूर्णतः पराजय तो इसीसे स्पष्ट है कि ये पितामह भीष्म प्रतिदिन दस हजार विपक्षी योद्धाओंका संहार करेंगे
abhivyaktaḥ pareṣāṁ ca kṛtsno bhuvi parājayaḥ | āhvāhokena bhīṣmo ’yaṁ prayutaṁ hanti bhārata ||
Duryodhana declares that the utter defeat of his enemies upon the earth is already plain: by the very call to battle, this grandsire Bhīṣma will slay ten thousand opposing warriors each day.
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how confidence grounded solely in force and numerical slaughter can masquerade as certainty of victory. It implicitly critiques Duryodhana’s moral blindness: he treats mass killing as evidence of inevitable success, overlooking dharma, justice, and the deeper consequences of war.
In Udyoga Parva, as war becomes imminent, Duryodhana speaks with triumphal certainty. He points to Bhīṣma’s unmatched prowess, claiming that Bhīṣma will kill ten thousand enemy warriors per day, and takes this as proof that the opponents’ total defeat is already assured.