Shloka 20
दुर्योधनस्य लज्जा-प्रायोपवेशविचारः
Duryodhana’s Shame and Consideration of Prāyopaveśa
कि नु तस्य सुखं न स्यादाश्रमे यो धनंजयम् । अभिवीक्षेत सिद्धार्थो वल्कलाजिनवाससम्,“नृपश्रेष्ठ! मनुष्यको अपने शत्रुओंकी दुर्दशा देखनेसे जो प्रसन्नता प्राप्त होती है, वह धन, पुत्र तथा राज्य मिलनेसे भी नहीं होती। हमलोगोंमेंसे जो भी स्वयं सिद्धमनोरथ होकर आश्रममें अर्जुनको वल्कल और मृगछाला पहने देखेगा, उसे कौन-सा सुख नहीं मिल जायगा?
ki nu tasya sukhaṁ na syād āśrame yo dhanañjayam | abhivīkṣeta siddhārtho valkalājinavāsasam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “What happiness would not come to the man who, having fulfilled his purpose, beholds Dhanañjaya in the hermitage, clad in bark-garments and a deerskin?” The verse underscores a pointed, ethically charged satisfaction: to see a mighty rival reduced to ascetic hardship is imagined as a joy surpassing even wealth, sons, or sovereignty—revealing how envy and triumphalism can distort one’s sense of true well-being.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral pitfall: taking deep joy in an enemy’s downfall can feel more intoxicating than legitimate gains like wealth or power, yet it reflects a distorted ethical compass. It implicitly contrasts outward ‘success’ with inner virtue, suggesting that true well-being should not be founded on another’s suffering.
In the Vana Parva context, the speaker evokes the image of Arjuna (Dhanañjaya) living like an ascetic in a forest hermitage, wearing bark and deerskin. The statement is framed rhetorically to emphasize how observers—especially hostile or competitive parties—might feel triumphant satisfaction at seeing a great warrior reduced to austere exile.