Shloka 50
दुर्योधन उवाच अधीतं विधिवद् दत्तं भू: प्रशास्ता ससागरा
duryodhana uvāca adhītaṃ vidhivad dattaṃ bhūḥ praśāstā sasāgarā
ദുര്യോധനൻ പറഞ്ഞു—“ഞാൻ വിധിപ്രകാരം പഠിച്ചു; യഥാവിധി ദാനം നൽകി; സമുദ്രങ്ങളോടുകൂടിയ ഭൂമിയെ ഞാൻ ഭരിച്ചു.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a common ethical tension in the Mahābhārata: outward markers of righteousness—study, ritual correctness, and charity—can be claimed as merit, yet they do not by themselves guarantee true dharma if driven by ego or used to justify unjust conduct.
In the Shalya Parva context, Duryodhana speaks in self-justification, listing his accomplishments—proper study, duly performed giving, and successful rule over the earth—as grounds for his sense of legitimacy and worth, even as the war’s moral reckoning closes in.