Shloka 20
द्रौपदी-शैब्यसंवादः — Draupadī’s Identification and Counsel on Hospitality
तस्मात् प्रायमुपासिष्ये न हि शक्ष्यामि जीवितुम् | चेतयानो हि को जीवेत् कृच्छाच्छत्रुभिरुद्धृत:
tasmāt prāyam upāsiṣye na hi śakṣyāmi jīvitum | cetayāno hi ko jīvet kṛcchāc chatrubhir uddhṛtaḥ ||
ゆえに我はプラーヤ（prāya）――死に至る断食――を行う。もはや生き続けることはできぬ。敵どもに苦境から救い出された後で、己をわきまえる者のうち、いったい誰が生を望むというのか。
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse dramatizes how unchecked pride and obsession with honor can distort ethical judgment: Duryodhana treats survival—especially survival enabled by rivals—as unbearable humiliation, preferring self-destruction over reflective endurance.
Duryodhana, overwhelmed by disgrace at having been saved from danger by those he considers enemies, declares he will undertake prāya—fasting unto death—arguing that no self-aware man would wish to live under such a perceived dishonor.