Shloka 41
गदायुद्धप्रतिज्ञा — The Vow and Terms of the Mace Duel
त्वं चाश्वसिहि कौन्तेय ये चाप्यनुगतास्तव । अहमुत्थाय व: सर्वान् प्रतियोत्स्यामि संयुगे
tvaṃ cāśvasihi kaunteya ye cāpy anugatās tava | aham utthāya vaḥ sarvān pratiyotsyāmi saṃyuge ||
Duryodhana berkata: “Wahai putera Kuntī, engkau juga berehatlah seketika—dan biarkan para pengiringmu yang mengikutmu menarik nafas kembali. Kemudian aku akan bangkit dan di medan perang akan bertempur dengan kamu semua.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the warrior-code posture of granting a moment’s respite before renewed combat, while also revealing Duryodhana’s pride and determination to confront multiple opponents—an ethical tension between courtesy in battle and the ego-driven urge to prove supremacy.
In the midst of the Kurukṣetra fighting, Duryodhana addresses a Pāṇḍava as “Kaunteya,” telling him and his accompanying followers to rest briefly; he then declares that he will rise and fight them all in the coming engagement.