Shloka 9
Duryodhana-patana-anuśocana
The Fall of Duryodhana and the Contest of Restraint
अतः शत्रुसूदन भीमसेन अपनी उस प्रतिज्ञाका पालन करें और मायावी राजा दुर्योधनको मायासे ही नष्ट कर डालें ।। यद्येष बलमास्थाय न्यायेन प्रहरिष्यति । विषमस्थस्ततो राजा भविष्यति युधिष्ठटिर:,यदि ये बलका सहारा लेकर न्यायपूर्वक प्रहार करेंगे, तब राजा युधिष्छिर पुनः बड़ी विषम परिस्थितिमें पड़ जायँगे
ataḥ śatrusūdana bhīmasena sva-pratijñāyāḥ pālanaṃ karotu, māyāvinaṃ rājānaṃ duryodhanaṃ māyayāiva naśyatu. yadi eṣa balam āsthāya nyāyena prahariṣyati, viṣamasthaḥ tato rājā bhaviṣyati yudhiṣṭhiraḥ.
Vāyu-deva said: “Therefore, O Bhīmasena, slayer of foes, fulfill your vow and destroy the crafty king Duryodhana by craft itself. For if he, relying on strength, strikes according to strict fairness, then King Yudhiṣṭhira will again be driven into a grievously unequal and perilous situation.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a tension between strict fairness (nyāya) and strategic necessity (māyā) in war: when an opponent is deceitful, responding with mere straightforward force may endanger the larger cause and the righteous king; fulfilling a vowed duty may require matching the enemy’s craft to restore balance.
Vāyu-deva addresses his son Bhīma, urging him to keep his pledge to bring down Duryodhana. He warns that if Bhīma attacks only by conventional ‘fair’ strength while Duryodhana remains crafty, Yudhiṣṭhira and the Pāṇḍava cause will fall into a renewed disadvantage.