Shloka 12
Dvārakāyāṃ Sāhāyya-vibhāgaḥ (Alliance Allocation at Dvārakā) / उद्योगपर्व अध्याय ७
जागनेपर वृष्णिकुलभूषण श्रीकृष्णने पहले अर्जुनको ही देखा। मधुसूदनने उन दोनोंका यथायोग्य आदर-सत्कार करके उनसे उनके आगमनका कारण पूछा। तब दुर्योधनने भगवान् श्रीकृष्णसे हँसते हुएसे कहा-- ।।
vaishampāyana uvāca | jāgane para vṛṣṇikulabhūṣaṇaḥ śrīkṛṣṇena pūrvam arjunam eva dṛṣṭaḥ | madhusūdanena tau dvāv api yathāyogyaṃ ādara-satkāraṃ kṛtvā tayor āgamanakāraṇaṃ pṛṣṭam | tato duryodhanaḥ bhagavantaṃ śrīkṛṣṇaṃ hasann iva uvāca— || vigrahe 'smin bhavān sahāyaṃ mama dātum iha arhati | samaṃ hi bhavataḥ sakhyaṃ mama caivārjune 'pi ca ||
Vaiśampāyana said: After waking, Śrī Kṛṣṇa—the ornament of the Vṛṣṇi clan—first noticed Arjuna. Madhusūdana then welcomed both visitors with fitting honor and asked the reason for their coming. Thereupon Duryodhana, smiling as he spoke, said to Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa: “In this impending conflict, you ought to grant me your support here; for your friendship is equally shared—toward me as well as toward Arjuna.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between personal friendship and political allegiance: Duryodhana appeals to Kṛṣṇa on the basis of equal friendship, implying that fairness should translate into support. It sets up the Mahābhārata’s recurring question of how dharma is discerned when relationships, power, and impending war pull in different directions.
Kṛṣṇa wakes and first notices Arjuna, then properly receives both Arjuna and Duryodhana and asks why they have come. Duryodhana, smiling, requests Kṛṣṇa’s aid in the coming conflict, arguing that Kṛṣṇa’s friendship is the same toward him and toward Arjuna.