Shloka 28
सुरभि–इन्द्रसंवादः
Surabhi–Indra Dialogue as a Governance Exemplar
वैशम्पायन उवाच एवं तु ब्रुवतस्तस्य मैत्रेयस्य विशाम्पते,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--राजन! मैत्रेयजी जब इस प्रकार कह रहे थे, उस समय दुर्योधनने मुसकराकर हाथीके सूँड़के समान अपनी जाँघको हाथसे ठोंका और पैरसे पृथ्वीको कुरेदने लगा
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: evaṃ tu bruvatas tasya Maitreyyasya viśāṃpate, Duryodhanaḥ smayamānaḥ hastisūṇḍopamāṃ ūrūṃ hastena tāḍayām āsa pādena ca pṛthivīṃ khanituṃ pravavṛte.
Vaiśampāyana said: “O king, while the sage Maitreya was speaking in this manner, Duryodhana, smiling in contempt, struck his thigh—like an elephant’s trunk—with his hand, and began to scrape the earth with his foot. The gesture reveals his arrogance and refusal to heed righteous counsel, foreshadowing the ethical collapse that drives the conflict.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how arrogance and contempt for wise counsel (especially from a sage) signal adharma. Duryodhana’s mocking gestures show inner hostility and moral blindness, which in the epic repeatedly leads to ruin.
As Maitreya speaks admonishing words, Duryodhana reacts not with humility but with a derisive smile, striking his thigh and scraping the ground—body language expressing defiance and disrespect toward the speaker.