Shloka 6
द्वैपायनह्रदे दुर्योधनान्वेषणम् / The Search for Duryodhana at Dvaipāyana Lake
ततो दुर्योधनो राजा दृष्टवा स्वबलसंक्षयम् | हतशेषान् समानीय क्रुद्धो रथगणान् बहून्
tato duryodhano rājā dṛṣṭvā svabalasaṃkṣayam | hataśeṣān samānīya kruddho rathagaṇān bahūn |
Sañjaya said: Then King Duryodhana, seeing the depletion of his own forces, gathered together the remnants who had survived the slaughter; and, inflamed with anger, he mustered many companies of chariot-warriors. The verse highlights how, when power wanes, a ruler may respond not with reflection or restraint but with wrath and renewed escalation—an ethically fraught turn in the logic of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse implicitly warns that anger-driven leadership in crisis tends to intensify violence rather than restore order. Seeing loss (saṃkṣaya), Duryodhana chooses wrath and mobilization, illustrating how attachment to victory and wounded pride can eclipse discernment and dharmic restraint.
Sañjaya reports that Duryodhana observes his side’s forces greatly reduced. He then gathers the surviving remnants and, in anger, organizes many chariot units—preparing for continued fighting despite heavy losses.