Shloka 24
उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय ५४: दुर्योधनस्य धृतराष्ट्रं प्रति बलप्रशंसन-युक्तः आश्वासनवादः
Duryodhana’s Reassurance and Force-Praise to Dhritarashtra
अस्मान् पुनरमी नाद्य समर्था जेतुमाहवे । छिन्नपक्षा: परे हाद्य वीर्यहीनाश्ष पाण्डवा:
asmān punar amī nādya samarthā jetum āhave | chinnapakṣāḥ pare hādya vīryahīnāś ca pāṇḍavāḥ ||
Duryodhana berkata: “Kini mereka tak lagi sanggup mengalahkan kita di medan perang. Para Pāṇḍava telah menjadi laksana burung yang sayapnya dipatahkan—tanpa penopang, tak berdaya, dan kehilangan daya-kesatriaannya.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse illustrates how pride and strategic confidence can harden into contempt for opponents. Ethically, it warns that judging dharma and outcomes solely by perceived strength and alliances can lead to reckless decisions and moral blindness.
In Udyoga Parva’s pre-war negotiations and preparations, Duryodhana boasts that the Pāṇḍavas have lost effective support and therefore cannot defeat the Kauravas in battle, using the image of wing-clipped birds to emphasize their supposed helplessness.