Shloka 146
अनुक्रमणिकाध्यायः (Anukramaṇikā Adhyāya) — Invocation, Narrator Frame, and Textual Scope
राजसूये श्रियं दृष्टवा पाण्डवस्य महौजस: । तच्चावहसन प्राप्प सभारोहणदर्शने,राजसूय-यज्ञमें महापराक्रमी पाण्डुपुत्र युधिष्ठिरकी सर्वोपरि समृद्धि-सम्पत्ति देखकर तथा सभाभवनकी सीढ़ियोंपर चढ़ते और उस भवनको देखते समय भीमसेनके द्वारा उपहास पाकर दुर्योधन भारी अमर्षमें भर गया था। युद्धमें पाण्डवोंको हरानेकी शक्ति तो उसमें थी नहीं; अतः क्षत्रिय होते हुए भी वह युद्धके लिये उत्साह नहीं दिखा सका। परंतु पाण्डवोंकी उस उत्तम सम्पत्तिको हथियानेके लिये उसने गान्धारराज शकुनिको साथ लेकर कपट॒पूर्ण द्यूत खेलनेका ही निश्चय किया। संजय! इस प्रकार जूआ खेलनेका निश्चय हो जानेपर उसके पहले और पीछे जो-जो घटनाएँ घटित हुई हैं उन सबका विचार करते हुए मैंने समय-समयपर विजयकी आशाके विपरीत जो-जो अनुभव किया है उसे कहता हूँ, सुनो--
rājasūye śriyaṃ dṛṣṭvā pāṇḍavasya mahaujasaḥ | taccāvahasan prāpya sabhārohaṇadarśane ||
Seeing the supreme splendor and prosperity attained by the mighty Pāṇḍava (Yudhiṣṭhira) at the Rājasūya, and then being mocked—especially during the episode of ascending and observing the royal assembly hall—Duryodhana was filled with burning resentment. Lacking the power to defeat the Pāṇḍavas in open battle, he did not show the proper martial resolve expected of a kṣatriya; instead, driven by envy and the desire to seize their wealth, he resolved—together with Śakuni, king of Gandhāra—to pursue a deceitful game of dice. This moment marks the ethical turning-point where humiliation and jealousy harden into adharma, setting the course toward catastrophe.
Educational Q&A
Unchecked envy and wounded pride can override kṣatriya ethics and push a person from honorable rivalry into deceit. The verse highlights how inner vices (amarṣa/resentment) become the real cause of outward conflict, making adharma appear ‘useful’ and thereby accelerating social and familial ruin.
After Yudhiṣṭhira’s Rājasūya, Duryodhana witnesses the Pāṇḍavas’ grandeur and is mocked in the assembly-hall episode (notably by Bhīma). He becomes resentful and, unable to win by straightforward combat, turns to Śakuni and resolves to use a deceptive dice game to seize their prosperity—an immediate precursor to the later calamities.