Shloka 28
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Duryodhana Dialogue on Peace and the Refusal of Compromise
महावनमिवच्छिन्नं यदा द्रक्ष्यसि पातितम् । बल॑ कुरूणां भीमेन तदा स्मर्तासि मे वच:,काटकर गिराये हुए विशाल वनकी भाँति जब तुम कौरवसेनाको भीमसेनके द्वारा मार गिरायी हुई देखोगे, तब तुम्हें मेरे वचनोंका स्मरण हो आयेगा
mahāvanam ivacchinnaṃ yadā drakṣyasi pātitam | balaṃ kurūṇāṃ bhīmena tadā smartāsi me vacaḥ ||
Apabila engkau melihat bala tentera Kuru ditumbangkan oleh Bhīma—laksana rimba besar ditebang hingga rebah—pada saat itu engkau akan mengingati kata-kataku.
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how pride and overconfidence in war lead to grim recognition only after irreversible loss; it also underscores the epic’s moral tension between bravado and the reality of destruction.
Duryodhana, speaking to his ally (contextually Karṇa in this section), predicts that the Kuru forces will be cut down by Bhīma; he uses the image of a vast forest felled to emphasize the scale of slaughter and to insist his warning will later be remembered.