Shloka 41
Sainyasaṅgraha and Bhāga-Vyavasthā (Forces Assembled and Rival Allocations) | सैन्यसंग्रह-भागव्यवस्था
पाण्डव मेरे पक्षके इन वीरोंकी ओर आँख उठाकर देखनेमें भी समर्थ नहीं हैं। पुत्रोंसहित पाण्डवोंके साथ मैं अकेला ही समरांगणमें युद्ध करनेकी शक्ति रखता हूँ ।।
matpriyaṃ pārthivāḥ sarve ye cikīrṣanti bhārata | te tān āvārayiṣyanti aiṇeyān iva tantunā ||
The Pāṇḍavas cannot even raise their eyes to look upon these heroes on my side. I alone have the strength to fight on the battlefield against the Pāṇḍavas together with their sons. O Bharata, all the kings who seek to do what pleases me will restrain the Pāṇḍavas, holding them back as easily as young deer are checked by a mere thread.
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse illustrates how pride and the hunger for dominance can distort judgment: Duryodhana assumes that political loyalty and military numbers guarantee victory, ignoring the ethical weight of the conflict and the consequences of adharma-driven ambition.
In Udyoga Parva, as war preparations intensify, Duryodhana speaks confidently to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, asserting that the allied kings devoted to him will easily check the Pāṇḍavas, comparing them to fawns restrained by a thread.