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

Transliteration

yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |

duryodhano na hālam adya dātuṃ jīvaṃs tava etan nṛpate kathaṃcit |

yat te purastād abhavat samṛddhaṃ dyūte hṛtaṃ pāṇḍavamukhya rājyam ||

Translation

युधिष्ठिर बोले—“नरेश्वर! यह निश्चय जानिए कि दुर्योधन आज किसी भी प्रकार, अपने जीवित रहते, वह राज्य आपको नहीं देगा। पाण्डवों में श्रेष्ठ! जो समृद्ध राज्य-वैभव पहले आपका था और जिसे जुए में हर लिया गया, उसे दुर्योधन अपने जीवनकाल में कभी आपको वापस नहीं करेगा।”

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.