Shloka 24
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Duryodhana Dialogue on Peace and the Refusal of Compromise
यदा द्रक्ष्यसि भीमेन कुञ्जरान् विनिपातितान् । विशीर्णदन्तान् गिर्याभान् भिन्नकुम्भान् सशोणितान्
yadā drakṣyasi bhīmena kuñjarān vinipātitān | viśīrṇadantān giryābhān bhinnakumbhān saśoṇitān ||
ドゥルヨーダナは言った。「ビーマが巨象を打ち倒すのをお前が見る時—その身は山のごとく、牙は砕け、こめかみは裂けて血に濡れ—戦場に崩れた山のように横たわるのを見れば、その光景に目を奪われ、ビーマの手の届くところへ近づくことを思うだけでも震え、わが言葉を思い出すであろう。」
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse is not a moral injunction but a rhetorical threat: it highlights how displays of overwhelming force are used to intimidate opponents and shape their resolve. Ethically, it illustrates the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between kṣatriya valor and the corrosive effects of pride, taunting, and fear-driven counsel.
Duryodhana, speaking in the Udyoga Parva, evokes a vivid battlefield image—Bhīma felling massive elephants with broken tusks and split temples—to warn that the addressee will later remember Duryodhana’s words in terror, even at the prospect of encountering Bhīma.