Shloka 26
उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय ५४: दुर्योधनस्य धृतराष्ट्रं प्रति बलप्रशंसन-युक्तः आश्वासनवादः
Duryodhana’s Reassurance and Force-Praise to Dhritarashtra
अप्यन्निं प्रविशेयुस्ते समुद्र वा परंतप । मदर्थ पार्थिवा: सर्वे तद् विद्धि कुरुसत्तम,शत्रुओंको संताप देनेवाले कुरुश्रेष्ठ! निश्चित मानिये, ये सब समागत नरेश मेरे लिये जलती आगममें भी प्रवेश कर सकते हैं और समुद्रमें भी कूद सकते हैं
apy agniṁ praviśeyus te samudraṁ vā parantapa | mad-arthaṁ pārthivāḥ sarve tad viddhi kuru-sattama ||
हे परंतप, हे कुरुश्रेष्ठ! निश्चयाने जाण—हे सर्व समागत राजे माझ्यासाठी धगधगत्या अग्नीतही प्रवेश करतील आणि समुद्रातही उडी घेतील.
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how political power and personal charisma can command extreme loyalty, but it also implicitly raises an ethical question: devotion to a leader is not the same as devotion to dharma, and allegiance can be misdirected toward unjust ends.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war negotiations and mobilization, Duryodhana boasts to a Kuru elder/kinsman that the gathered rulers are so committed to him that they would undertake even fatal acts—entering fire or the sea—if it served his cause.