Shloka 26
उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय ५४: दुर्योधनस्य धृतराष्ट्रं प्रति बलप्रशंसन-युक्तः आश्वासनवादः
Duryodhana’s Reassurance and Force-Praise to Dhritarashtra
अप्यन्निं प्रविशेयुस्ते समुद्र वा परंतप । मदर्थ पार्थिवा: सर्वे तद् विद्धि कुरुसत्तम
apy agniṁ praviśeyus te samudraṁ vā parantapa | mad-arthaṁ pārthivāḥ sarve tad viddhi kuru-sattama ||
Дурьодхана сказал: «О сокрушитель врагов, о лучший из Куру, знай наверняка: все эти собравшиеся цари ради меня вошли бы даже в пылающий огонь или бросились бы в море».
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how political power and personal charisma can command extreme loyalty, but it also implicitly raises an ethical question: devotion to a leader is not the same as devotion to dharma, and allegiance can be misdirected toward unjust ends.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war negotiations and mobilization, Duryodhana boasts to a Kuru elder/kinsman that the gathered rulers are so committed to him that they would undertake even fatal acts—entering fire or the sea—if it served his cause.