Shloka 2
Adhyāya 52 (Sabhā-parva): Vidura Invites Yudhiṣṭhira to Hastināpura for the Dice Match
दुर्योधन बोला--अनघ! राजाओंद्वारा युधिष्ठिरके यज्ञके लिये दिये हुए जिस महान् धनका संग्रह वहाँ हुआ था, वह अनेक प्रकारका था। मैं उसका वर्णन करता हूँ, सुनिये ।।
duryodhana uvāca—anagha! rājabhir yudhiṣṭhirasya yajñārthaṃ dattasya mahato dhanasya yatra saṃgraho ’bhavat sa nānāvīryaḥ (nānāvidhaḥ) । tasya varṇanaṃ karomi—śṛṇu । merumandarayor madhye śailodām abhito nadīm | ye te kīcakaveṇūnāṃ chāyāṃ ramyām upāsate ||
Duryodhana dit : «Ô irréprochable ! L’immense richesse amassée là—offerte par de nombreux rois pour le rite sacrificiel de Yudhiṣṭhira—était de toutes sortes. Je vais la décrire ; écoute. Entre le Meru et le Mandara coule la rivière Śailodā ; le long de ses rives demeurent ceux qui se plaisent à l’ombre charmante des bambous kīcaka.»
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames immense ritual wealth as a public, kingly phenomenon—generated through alliances and recognition—while also hinting at the ethical danger of attachment: Duryodhana’s detailed attention to others’ prosperity becomes a seed for envy and conflict.
Duryodhana begins recounting the extraordinary riches assembled for Yudhiṣṭhira’s great sacrifice, shifting into a descriptive catalogue that includes far-off, almost mythic regions (Meru–Mandara and the Śailodā river) and their distinctive natural features.