Shloka 17
द्वैपायनह्रदे दुर्योधनान्वेषणम् / The Search for Duryodhana at Dvaipāyana Lake
ततो वीक्ष्य दिश: सर्वा दृष्टवा शून्यां च मेदिनीम् विहीन: सर्वयोधैश्व पाण्डवान् वीक्ष्य संयुगे,उस समय उसे सम्पूर्ण दिशाएँ और सारी पृथ्वी सूनी दिखायी दी। वह अपने समस्त योद्धाओंसे हीन हो चुका था। महाराज! दुर्योधनने युद्धस्थलमें पाण्डवोंको सर्वथा प्रसन्न, सफलमनोरथ और सब ओरसे सिंहनाद करते देख तथा उन महामनस्वी वीरोंके बाणोंकी सनसनाहट सुनकर शोकसे संतप्त हो वहाँसे भाग जानेका विचार किया। उसके पास न तो सेना थी और न कोई सवारी ही
tato vīkṣya diśaḥ sarvā dṛṣṭvā śūnyāṃ ca medinīm | vihīnaḥ sarvayodhaiś ca pāṇḍavān vīkṣya saṃyuge ||
Then, looking in every direction and seeing the earth lying desolate, he realized he had been stripped of all his warriors. And when, on the battlefield, he beheld the Pāṇḍavas—exultant, their aims fulfilled, roaring on all sides like lions—hearing too the whirring rush of those great-souled heroes’ arrows, Duryodhana, scorched by grief, resolved to flee from that place, for he had neither an army left nor even a mount.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral consequence of unrighteous ambition: when one’s cause is sustained by adharma, support collapses, leaving isolation and fear. The victorious confidence of the Pāṇḍavas contrasts with Duryodhana’s grief and impulse to flee, highlighting how inner alignment with dharma steadies courage while guilt and loss breed panic.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Duryodhana surveys the battlefield, sees it emptied of his forces, and notices the Pāṇḍavas thriving—roaring like lions amid the hiss of their arrows. Overwhelmed by sorrow and lacking both troops and a mount, he considers escaping from the field.