Shloka 54
Adhyāya 33: Rauhiṇeya (Balarāma) is welcomed and takes his seat to witness the gadā-engagement
गदिनं कोड्द्य मां पाप हन्तुमुत्सहते रिपु: । न्यायतो युद्धयमानश्न देवेष्वपि पुरन्दर:,ओ पापी! आज कौन ऐसा शत्रु है, जो मेरे हाथमें गदा रहते हुए भी मुझे मार सके। न्यायपूर्वक युद्ध करते हुए देवताओंके राजा इन्द्र भी मुझे परास्त नहीं कर सकते
gadinaṁ ko ’dya māṁ pāpa hantum utsahate ripuḥ | nyāyato yuddhyamānaś ca deveṣv api purandaraḥ ||
Duryodhana said: “O wretch! Who among my enemies today would dare to kill me while I hold the mace? Fighting in a ‘proper’ and rule-bound manner, even Purandara (Indra), king of the gods, could not defeat me.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how pride can masquerade as righteousness: Duryodhana claims invincibility while appealing to ‘nyāya’ (proper conduct in war). The ethical tension is that confidence in strength and rule-based fighting can become hubris, blinding one to moral reality and impending downfall.
In the Shalya Parva context, Duryodhana, armed with his mace, boasts that no enemy can kill him and that even Indra could not defeat him if the fight follows proper rules. It reflects his defiant mindset on the battlefield as the war nears its decisive end.