Shloka 12
Bhīṣma’s Appraisal of Kaurava Champions (भीष्मकृतः रथिनां गुणनिरूपणम्)
दुर्योधन उवाच विद्यते मे न गाड़ेय भयं देवासुरेष्वपि । समस्तेषु महाबाहो सत्यमेतद् ब्रवीमि ते
duryodhana uvāca | vidyate me na gāḍheya bhayaṃ devāsureṣv api | samasteṣu mahābāho satyam etad bravīmi te ||
Duryodhana berkata: “Wahai putera Sungai Gaṅgā, yang berlengan perkasa! Tiada ketakutan yang berakar dalam pada diriku—bahkan terhadap para dewa dan asura sekalipun, walau semuanya bersatu. Dengan sebenar-benarnya aku katakan ini kepadamu.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how unchecked pride and overconfidence can harden a person against wise counsel and even against reverence for higher moral or cosmic order. Ethically, it signals a movement away from humility and dharma toward obstinate self-will.
In the Udyoga Parva, as war becomes imminent, Duryodhana addresses Bhīṣma (the son of the Gaṅgā). He asserts that he feels no fear even of the combined gods and asuras, emphasizing his defiant resolve in the face of looming conflict and admonition.