Shloka 42

Udyoga Parva, Adhyāya 72 — Bhīmasena’s counsel on conciliation and Duryodhana’s disposition

Devanagari script

दुर्योधनो न हालमद्य दातुं जीवंस्तवैतन्नूपते कथंचित्‌ । यत्‌ ते पुरस्तादभवत्‌ समृद्ध द्यूते हृतं पाण्डवमुख्य राज्यम्‌,पाण्डवप्रवर! नरेश्वर! यह निश्चय मानिये, आपके पास पहले जो समृद्धिशाली राज्य- वैभव था और जिसे आपने जूएमें खो दिया था, वह सारा राज्य अब दुर्योधन अपने जीते- जी आपको कभी नहीं दे सकता

Transliteration

yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |

duryodhano na hālam adya dātuṃ jīvaṃs tava etan nṛpate kathaṃcit |

yat te purastād abhavat samṛddhaṃ dyūte hṛtaṃ pāṇḍavamukhya rājyam ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira dit : «Ô roi, Duryodhana ne te rendra cela d’aucune manière tant qu’il vivra—ni aujourd’hui ni jamais. Cette souveraineté prospère qui fut jadis la tienne—le royaume du premier des Pāṇḍava—fut ravie au jeu de dés ; Duryodhana ne la rétablira pas de son vivant.»

Word by Word

• {'duryodhanaḥ': 'Duryodhana (eldest Kaurava prince)', 'na': 'not', 'adya': 'today, now', 'dātuṃ': 'to give, to grant', 'jīvan': 'while living

• as long as he lives', 'tava': 'to you, your', 'etat': 'this (that which is being sought/claimed back)', 'nṛpate': 'O king (vocative)', 'kathaṃcit': 'in any way, by any means', 'yat': 'which', 'te': 'your, of you', 'purastāt': 'formerly, earlier', 'abhavat': 'was, existed', 'samṛddham': 'prosperous, flourishing', 'dyūte': 'in the dice-game

• by gambling', 'hṛtam': 'taken away, seized', 'pāṇḍava-mukhya': 'O foremost among the Pāṇḍavas / the chief Pāṇḍava', 'rājyam': 'kingdom, sovereignty'}

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Duryodhana
• Pāṇḍavas
• rājya (the kingdom)
• dyūta (the dice-game)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the ethical reality that injustice, once entrenched in pride and hostility, is rarely corrected voluntarily. Yudhiṣṭhira recognizes that Duryodhana’s refusal is not a procedural obstacle but a moral one—an attachment to wrongful gain that makes peaceful restitution impossible without a deeper transformation or decisive confrontation.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war negotiations, the Pāṇḍavas seek restoration of their rightful share after the kingdom was taken through the dice-game. Yudhiṣṭhira states plainly that Duryodhana will not return the lost sovereignty while he lives, signaling the collapse of hopes for voluntary settlement and the looming inevitability of war.