Shloka 65
उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय ५४: दुर्योधनस्य धृतराष्ट्रं प्रति बलप्रशंसन-युक्तः आश्वासनवादः
Duryodhana’s Reassurance and Force-Praise to Dhritarashtra
शलो भूरिश्रवाश्वैव विकर्णश्र॒ तवात्मज: । प्रजानाथ! हमलोगोंके पक्षमें जो विशिष्ट योद्धा हैं
akṣauhiṇyo hi me rājan daśaikā ca samāhatāḥ | nyūnāḥ pareṣāṃ saptaiva kasmān me sthāt parājayaḥ ||
Dijo Duryodhana: «Oh señor del pueblo, en nuestro bando son más numerosos los guerreros distinguidos: Bhīṣma, Droṇācārya, Kṛpācārya y otros; Aśvatthāman, Vaikartana Karṇa, Somadatta, Bāhlīka, el rey de Prāgjyotiṣa Bhagadatta, Śalya, los dos príncipes de Avanti—Vinda y Anuvinda—, Jayadratha, Duḥśāsana, Durmukha, Duḥsaha, Śrutāyu, Citrasena, Purumitra, Vivimśati, Śala, Bhūriśravā, y tu hijo Vikarna. (Así, nuestros principales héroes son el triple que los del enemigo.) Oh rey, he reunido once akṣauhiṇīs completas de tropas; el enemigo tiene sólo siete, muy inferiores en número. ¿Cómo, entonces, podría alcanzarme la derrota?»
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Numerical strength and outward power do not guarantee victory; ethical legitimacy, wise counsel, and the unseen force of dharma can overturn calculations based only on quantity.
In Udyoga Parva, as war becomes imminent, Duryodhana speaks to the king, asserting that the Kauravas have mustered eleven akṣauhiṇīs while the Pandavas have only seven, and he concludes that defeat is therefore impossible.