Adhyāya 52 (Sabhā-parva): Vidura Invites Yudhiṣṭhira to Hastināpura for the Dice Match
शत्रूणां पश्यतो दु:खान्मुमूर्षा मे व्यजायत । भृत्यास्तु ये पाण्डवानां तांस्ते वक्ष्यामि पार्थिव
śatrūṇāṃ paśyato duḥkhān mumūrṣā me vyajāyata | bhṛtyās tu ye pāṇḍavānāṃ tāṃs te vakṣyāmi pārthiva ||
ದುರ್ಯೋಧನನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಶತ್ರುಗಳ ದುಃಖವನ್ನು ನೋಡುತ್ತಾ ನೋಡುತ್ತಾ ನನಗೆ ಮರಣಕಾಮನೆ ಉಂಟಾಯಿತು. ಓ ರಾಜನೇ, ಈಗ ಪಾಂಡವರ ಭೃತ್ಯರ ವಿಷಯವನ್ನು ನಿನಗೆ ಹೇಳುತ್ತೇನೆ.
दुर्योधन उवाच
The verse highlights how fixation on an enemy’s suffering can corrode one’s own mind: even perceived triumph can generate inner collapse (mumūrṣā). Ethically, it points to the self-destructive nature of envy and vindictiveness, where the observer becomes harmed by the very hatred he nurtures.
Duryodhana, speaking to a kingly figure in the courtly setting of the Sabha narrative, confesses that seeing his rivals’ distress stirred a death-wish in him, and then transitions to a strategic report: he will enumerate the Pāṇḍavas’ supporters/retainers—information relevant to political maneuvering and future conflict.