Shloka 21
त॑ मामनार्यपुरुषं मित्रद्रुहमधार्मिकम् । कि वक्ष्यति हि दुर्धर्ष: समेत्य परलोकजित्,ये परलोक-विजयी दुर्धर्ष वीर भीष्म यदि मैं उनके पास जाऊँ तो मुझ नीच, मित्रद्रोही तथा पापात्मा पुरुषसे क्या कहेंगे?
taṁ mām anārya-puruṣaṁ mitra-druham adhārmikam | kiṁ vakṣyati hi durdharṣaḥ sametya paraloka-jit ||
What will that unconquerable hero—victorious in the other world—say when he meets me, a base and ignoble man, a betrayer of friends, and one who stands outside dharma? If I go before him, how will he address me?
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights moral self-recognition: betrayal of allies and deviation from dharma create inner shame and fear of judgment by the truly righteous and heroic. Ethical failure is portrayed not only as a social wrong but as a spiritual stain affecting one’s standing before the noble—especially those believed to have attained merit in the afterlife.
Duryodhana reflects anxiously on approaching a revered, unconquerable warrior described as 'victorious in the other world.' He anticipates reproach because he sees himself as ignoble, friend-betraying, and unrighteous, and wonders what such a hero will say upon meeting him.