Shloka 23
अक्षदेवन-प्रवर्तनम् | Commencement of the Dice Game
यथातिमात्र कौन्तेय: श्रिया परमया युतः । राजसूयमवाप्यैवं हरिश्नन्द्र इव प्रभु:
yathātimātra kaunteyaḥ śriyā paramayā yutaḥ | rājasūyam avāpyaivaṃ hariścandra iva prabhuḥ ||
Dijo Duryodhana: «Así, oh hijo de Kuntī, Yudhiṣṭhira—tras obtener el Rājasūya—ha quedado colmado de la suprema fortuna real, más allá de toda medida. Ese poderoso señor resplandece ahora como el rey Hariścandra».
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how ritual and public recognition (the Rājasūya) confer visible sovereignty and prosperity, while also implying an ethical challenge: another’s success can become a trigger for envy, testing one’s self-control and dharmic disposition.
Duryodhana comments on Yudhiṣṭhira’s newly achieved grandeur after completing the Rājasūya, praising his splendor by comparing him to Hariścandra—an observation that, in context, feeds Duryodhana’s growing resentment in the royal assembly setting.