Shloka 26
कर्णेन युधिष्ठिरानीकविदारणम् / Karṇa’s Breach of Yudhiṣṭhira’s Battle-Line
धर्मार्थकामं संयुक्त त्रिवेणुं दारु बन्धुरम् । ओषधीर्वीरुधश्चैव घण्टा: पुष्पफलोपगा:,त्रिवेणु-तुल्य धर्म, अर्थ और काम--तीनोंको संयुक्त करके रथकी बैठक बनाया। फल और फूलोंसे युक्त ओषधियों एवं लताओंको घण्टाका रूप दिया
dharmārthakāmaṃ saṃyuktaṃ triveṇuṃ dāru-bandhuram | oṣadhīr vīrudhaś caiva ghaṇṭāḥ puṣpaphalopagāḥ |
Duryodhana dit : « Unissant dharma, artha et kāma en une seule triade—tel un triple tressage lié à une armature de bois—je façonnai le siège du char. Et d’herbes médicinales et de lianes rampantes, riches de fleurs et de fruits, je fis des ornements semblables à des clochettes. »
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a crafted image to suggest that human aims—dharma (moral order), artha (power/prosperity), and kāma (desire)—can be ‘woven together’ into a single structure. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical horizon, this raises a tension: when such aims are blended without dharma governing the others, splendour and ingenuity may still serve a flawed purpose.
Duryodhana describes an act of symbolic construction and ornamentation connected with a chariot: he imagines the triad of dharma-artha-kāma as a threefold braid forming the seat, and he fashions bell-like decorations from flowering, fruit-bearing herbs and vines—projecting royal magnificence and deliberate design amid the war setting.