Shloka 14
Dvaipāyana-hrade Duryodhanasya Māyā — Yudhiṣṭhirasya Dharmoktiḥ (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 30)
दुर्योधन उवाच दिष्ट्या पश्यामि वो मुक्तानीदृशात् पुरुषक्षयात्
duryodhana uvāca diṣṭyā paśyāmi vo muktān īdṛśāt puruṣakṣayāt
ਦੁਰਯੋਧਨ ਨੇ ਆਖਿਆ—ਭਾਗਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਮੈਂ ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ ਸਭ ਨੂੰ ਐਸੇ ਭਿਆਨਕ ਮਨੁੱਖ-ਸੰਹਾਰ ਤੋਂ ਬਚਿਆ ਹੋਇਆ ਵੇਖਦਾ ਹਾਂ।
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The line highlights the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between human agency and destiny: after catastrophic warfare, mere survival is framed as “diṣṭi” (fortune/fate). Ethically, it underscores how leaders interpret outcomes—here, relief at being spared further mass killing—while the broader epic questions the cost of such conflict.
In Śalya-parvan, amid the late and devastating phase of the Kurukṣetra war, Duryodhana addresses his men, expressing that it is fortunate to see them still alive—saved from a grievous “puruṣakṣaya,” the wholesale destruction of warriors.