Shloka 9
ते वयं पाण्डवधनै: सर्वान् सम्पूज्य पार्थिवान् यदि तान् योधयिष्याम: किं वै नः परिहास्यति
te vayaṁ pāṇḍava-dhanaiḥ sarvān sampūjya pārthivān | yadi tān yodhayiṣyāmaḥ kiṁ vai naḥ parihāsyati mahārāja ||
“¡Oh gran rey! Si con la riqueza de los Pāṇḍavas honramos a todos los reyes, los atraemos a nuestro bando y luego hacemos la guerra contra los Pāṇḍavas, ¿qué daño puede sobrevenirnos? ¿Quién se atrevería entonces a burlarse de nosotros?”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an adharma-driven mindset: treating wealth, honor, and alliances as manipulable instruments for domination. It implicitly warns that success gained by exploiting others’ rightful prosperity and by commodifying respect corrodes moral order and escalates conflict.
Duryodhana proposes using the Pāṇḍavas’ wealth (won and displayed in the royal context) to honor and attract other kings, forming a coalition, and then turning that gathered force against the Pāṇḍavas—framing it as risk-free and socially unassailable.