Shloka 17

Devanagari script

अल्पो5पि हारिरत्यर्थ वर्धमान: पराक्रमै: । वल्मीको मूलज इव ग्रसते वृक्षमन्तिकात्‌,जैसे वृक्षकी जड़में उत्पन्न हुई दीमक उसमें लगी रहनेके कारण उस वृक्षको ही खा जाती है, वैसे ही छोटा-सा भी शत्रु यदि पराक्रमसे बहुत बढ़ जाय, तो वह पहलेके प्रबल शत्रुको भी नष्ट कर डालता है

Transliteration

alpo 'pi hārir atyarthaṁ vardhamānaḥ parākramaiḥ | valmīko mūlaja iva grasate vṛkṣam antikāt ||

Translation

Duryodhana dit : «Même un petit ennemi, s’il croît démesurément par ses exploits, peut dévorer et détruire un puissant—comme le termite né à la racine qui, s’y tenant tout près, ronge peu à peu l’arbre lui-même.»

Word by Word

अल्पःsmall, little

अपिeven, although

अरिःenemy

अत्यर्थम्excessively, greatly

वर्धमानःgrowing, increasing

पराक्रमैःby acts of valor; by prowess

वल्मीकेin an anthill

मूलजःroot-born; arising at the root

इवlike, as

ग्रसतेdevours, consumes

वृक्षम्tree

अन्तिकात्from close by; at close quarters

Speaker

दुर्योधन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Duryodhana

enemy (hāri)

termite (valmīka)

tree (vṛkṣa)

root (mūla)

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?

Do not underestimate a minor adversary: if allowed to grow in strength and influence, even a seemingly insignificant foe can undermine and destroy a far stronger power from within or from close proximity.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Sabha Parva context, Duryodhana is voicing strategic anxiety and warning: he frames an enemy’s gradual rise as a hidden, root-born threat—using the termite-and-tree image to argue that a small opponent, once empowered, can bring down the established strong.