Shloka 12
शकुनिवधः — Sahadeva’s Slaying of Śakuni
with Ulūka’s fall
“दुर्योधन समझता है कि “संग्रामभूमिमें तुम्हारी सारी सेनाका संहार करके पाण्डवोंको पराजित कर दूँगा।” इसीलिये वह अत्यन्त उग्र रूप धारण कर रहा है ।।
nihataṁ svabalaṁ dṛṣṭvā pīḍitaṁ cāpi pāṇḍavaiḥ | dhruvam eṣyati saṅgrāme vadhāyaivātmano nṛpaḥ ||
Disse Sañjaya: Vendo as suas próprias tropas abatidas e duramente acossadas pelos Pāṇḍavas, o rei Duryodhana certamente entrará no campo de batalha apenas para a sua própria morte. Impelido pela ira e pela ilusão, imagina: «Se eu aniquilar o exército adversário, vencerei os Pāṇḍavas»; mas essa resolução, nascida do orgulho e do desespero, apressa a sua ruína.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
When one is driven by pride and anger, even clear signs of loss are reinterpreted as a reason to escalate; such delusion (moha) turns action into self-destruction. The verse highlights how abandoning dharma and sober judgment in war leads not to victory but to inevitable ruin.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Duryodhana, seeing his own army devastated by the Pāṇḍavas, will nonetheless go into the battle—yet this advance is portrayed as a march toward his own death rather than a strategic move toward victory.