Shloka 13

Devanagari script

अशक्योड्द्य त्वया राजन्‌ विनिवर्तयितुं बलात्‌ । राजन! इस दुर्योधनको काम और क्रोधने अपने वशमें कर लिया है, यह लोभमें फँस गया है; अतः आज आपका इसे बलपूर्वक पीछे लौटाना असम्भव है ।। राष्ट्रप्रदाने मूढस्य बालिशस्य दुरात्मन:

Transliteration

aśakyo ’dya tvayā rājan vinivartayituṃ balāt | rāṣṭrapradāne mūḍhasya bāliśasya durātmanaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dijo: «Oh rey, hoy te es imposible obligarlo por la fuerza a dar marcha atrás. En lo tocante a ceder el reino, ese hombre, extraviado, pueril y de intención perversa, no puede ser contenido: ha caído bajo el dominio del deseo, la ira y la codicia».

Word by Word

अशक्यःimpossible

उद्यःtoday

त्वयाby you

राजन्O king

विनिवर्तयितुम्to turn back, to make return

बलात्by force, forcibly

राष्ट्रप्रदानेin the giving of the kingdom

मूढस्यof the deluded one

बालिशस्यof the childish/foolish one

दुरात्मनःof the wicked-souled one

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

rājan (the king addressed)

Duryodhana

rāṣṭra (kingdom)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A person dominated by kāma (desire), krodha (anger), and lobha (greed) becomes resistant to wise counsel; when delusion hardens into obstinacy, even rightful and ethical settlements (like yielding a kingdom to avert harm) may become practically impossible without coercion.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana comments that the king being addressed cannot, at this moment, compel Duryodhana to retreat or agree to the surrender/return of the kingdom; Duryodhana is portrayed as deluded and morally compromised, making peaceful reversal unlikely.