Shloka 6
Udyoga Parva, Adhyāya 55 — Sañjaya’s Report on Pāṇḍava Readiness and Arjuna’s Dhvaja
दुर्योधन उवाच प्रशंसस्यभिनन्दंस्तान् पार्थानक्षपराजितान् । अर्जुनस्य रथे ब्रूहि कथमश्चा: कथं ध्वजा:
duryodhana uvāca praśaṁsasy abhinandan tān pārthān akṣaparājitān | arjunasya rathe brūhi katham aśvāḥ kathaṁ dhvajāḥ ||
Duryodhana said: “Sañjaya, you have been praising and congratulating those Pārthas who were defeated at dice. Tell me plainly—what kind of horses does Arjuna’s chariot have, and what kind of banners?”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how envy and wounded pride fixate on external signs of power—horses and banners—while dismissing moral realities. Duryodhana’s emphasis on the Pāṇḍavas’ dice-loss shows an attempt to reduce their legitimacy, revealing how adharma often seeks rhetorical justification rather than self-correction.
In the Udyoga Parva’s war-preparations, Sañjaya has been describing the Pāṇḍavas and their strengths. Duryodhana reacts sharply, accusing Sañjaya of praising the Pāṇḍavas despite their earlier humiliation in the dice game, and demands specific details about Arjuna’s chariot—its horses and its standard—key markers of a warrior’s might and auspiciousness.