Shloka 273
धृतराष्ट्रविलापः — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament and Inquiry (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 2)
न स संनहाते राजन्निति मामब्रवीद् वच: । “राजन! पाण्डवोंके जो नेता हैं, वे महाबली वसुदेवनन्दन श्रीकृष्ण युद्धके लिये कवच नहीं धारण करेंगे।” ऐसी बात दुर्योधन मुझसे कहता था
na sa saṁnahāte rājan iti mām abravīd vacaḥ | rājann pāṇḍavānāṁ yo netā sa mahābalī vasudeva-nandanaḥ śrīkṛṣṇo yuddhāya kavacaṁ na dhārayiṣyati | iti duryodhano māṁ prati kathayati sma |
He said to me, “O King, he will not put on armor.” Duryodhana kept telling me this: “O King, the mighty leader of the Pāṇḍavas—Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the son of Vasudeva—will not don a cuirass for battle.” The remark carries a calculated confidence: Duryodhana treats Kṛṣṇa’s chosen restraint as a tactical weakness, revealing how pride can misread voluntary self-limitation and moral resolve in war.
धघतयाट्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Arrogance and overconfidence can distort judgment in conflict: Duryodhana interprets Kṛṣṇa’s refusal to wear armor as vulnerability, failing to grasp that voluntary restraint may arise from higher purpose, resolve, or dharmic commitment rather than weakness.
The speaker reports Duryodhana’s repeated statement to the king: that Kṛṣṇa—described as the mighty leader of the Pāṇḍavas and son of Vasudeva—will not don armor for the coming battle, a detail Duryodhana treats as significant for the war’s prospects.