Shloka 17
Dyūta-āhvāna: Śakuni’s Proposal, Vidura’s Warning, and the Summons of Yudhiṣṭhira
Sabhā-parva 51
द्ययक्षांस्त्रयक्षॉल्ललाटाक्षान् नानादिग्भ्य: समागतान् | औष्णीकानन्तवासांश्व॒ रोमकान् पुरुषादकान्
dṛṣṭavān asmi tri-yakṣān lalāṭākṣān nānā-digbhyaḥ samāgatān | auṣṇīkān antavāsāṃś ca romakān puruṣādakān ||
ドゥルヨーダナは言った。「私は自らの目で見たのだ。トリヤクシャ、ララータークシャ、アウシュニーカ、アンタヴァーサ、ローマカ、プルシャーダカ――これらの王たちが諸方より集まって来た。王門で止められ、彼らは貢物を携えて立ち尽くし、さらに色とりどりの、遠路に耐える俊敏な荷驢馬を数多く連れていた。首は黒く体は大きく、四方に名高く、よく馴らされたものだった。」
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how political power is displayed through tribute and public spectacle; ethically, it points to the danger of pride and envy—seeing others’ prosperity and alliances can inflame rivalry and lead to adharma-driven decisions.
Duryodhana reports what he personally witnessed: many foreign or frontier kings, identified by their ethnonyms, arrived from different directions with gifts and trained pack-animals, but were held at the royal gate—an image of a vast network of submission/attendance and the court’s controlled access.