Shloka 93
द्रौपदी-शैब्यसंवादः — Draupadī’s Identification and Counsel on Hospitality
प्राप्ताश्न पुण्यलोका: स्युर्महेन्द्रसदने5क्षया: । गन्धर्वके हाथसे मारे जानेपर इस भूमण्डलमें मेरा यश विख्यात हो जाता और इन्द्रलोकमें मुझे अक्षय पुण्यधाम प्राप्त होते
prāptāś ca puṇyalokāḥ syur mahendrasadane 'kṣayāḥ | gandharvakair hatasyāsya bhūmaṇḍale mama yaśo vikhyātaṃ syāt, indraloke cākṣayaṃ puṇyadhāma prāpnuyām |
Duryodhana songe que, s’il avait été tué par les Gandharvas, sa renommée se serait répandue sur toute la terre, et qu’il aurait obtenu, dans la cour céleste de Mahendra (Indra), une demeure de mérite impérissable. Cette pensée dévoile son attachement à la réputation et aux récompenses d’outre-tombe : il préfère l’apparence d’une mort héroïque et le gain du ciel à l’examen lucide de soi et à la retenue conforme au dharma.
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how the pursuit of fame and imagined heavenly reward can distort judgment: Duryodhana frames even a humiliating defeat as a pathway to glory, revealing attachment to reputation (yaśas) rather than genuine dharmic reflection.
In the Vana Parva context of the Gandharva encounter, Duryodhana speaks about the hypothetical outcome of being killed by the Gandharvas—claiming it would have made his fame renowned on earth and secured him an imperishable meritorious place in Indra’s realm.