Shloka 18
Duryodhana-patana-anuśocana
The Fall of Duryodhana and the Contest of Restraint
अपि नो निर्जितं राज्यं न हरेत सुयोधन:,कहीं ऐसा न हो कि हमारे जीते हुए राज्यको दुर्योधन फिर हड़प ले। उसने तेरह वर्षोंतक गदाद्वारा युद्ध करनेका निरन्तर श्रम एवं अभ्यास किया है। देखो, यह भीमसेनके वधकी इच्छासे इधर-उधर और ऊपरकी ओर विचर रहा है
api no nirjitaṃ rājyaṃ na haret suyodhanaḥ | kahīṃ aisā na ho ki hamāre jīte hue rājyako duryodhana phir haṛap le | usne trayodaśa varṣāṇi yuddhaṃ gadayā nirantara-śramaṃ ca abhyāsaṃ ca kṛtavān | paśyata, eṣa bhīmasenasya vadhābhilāṣāt iha-tatra ūrdhvaṃ ca vicarati |
Vāyu said: “May Suyodhana not seize again the kingdom we have already won. Lest it happen that Duryodhana snatches back what has been conquered. For thirteen years he has pursued unbroken toil and practice in fighting with the mace. Look—driven by the desire to kill Bhīmasena, he is roaming about, moving here and there and even upward.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical urgency of safeguarding hard-won justice and sovereignty: victory is not secure merely by winning once, because an adversary sustained by long discipline and single-minded intent can overturn outcomes. It also underscores how prolonged training (abhyāsa) amplifies both capability and danger when driven by destructive desire.
Vāyudeva, concerned for his son Bhīma and the Pandavas’ hard-won position, warns that Duryodhana may yet reclaim the kingdom. He points out Duryodhana’s thirteen-year continuous practice in mace-fighting and observes his aggressive movements, motivated by the intent to kill Bhīma.