Mahabharata 3.239.18 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 239, Shloka 18

दुर्योधनस्य प्रायोपवेशः — शकुनिसान्त्वनम् तथा कृत्याह्वानम्

Duryodhana’s Fast: Śakuni’s Consolation and the Summoning of a Kṛtyā

Devanagari script

ततो दुर्योधन कर्ण: प्रहसन्निदमब्रवीत्‌ । उपाय: परिदृष्टोडयं तं निबोध जनेश्वर,वहाँ कर्णने हँसकर दुर्योधनसे कहा--'जनेश्वर! मुझे जो उपाय सूझा है, उसे बताता हूँ, सुनो

Transliteration

tato duryodhanaḥ karṇaḥ prahasann idam abravīt | upāyaḥ paridṛṣṭo ’yaṃ taṃ nibodha janeśvara ||

Translation

ततो दुर्योधनं कर्णः प्रहसन्निदमब्रवीत् । उपायः परिदृष्टोऽयं तं निबोध जनेश्वर ॥

Word by Word

• {'tataḥ': 'then, thereafter', 'duryodhanaḥ': 'Duryodhana (son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra

• leader of the Kauravas)', 'karṇaḥ': 'Karṇa (ally of Duryodhana

• famed archer)', 'prahasan': 'smiling, laughing (with a tone of confidence or derision)', 'idam': 'this (statement/words)', 'abravīt': 'said, spoke', 'upāyaḥ': 'means, plan, stratagem', 'paridṛṣṭaḥ': 'seen clearly, discerned, thought out', 'ayam': 'this (plan)', 'tam': 'that (plan/means)', 'nibodha': 'understand, take heed, listen attentively', 'janeśvara': 'lord of men, king (vocative address)'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Duryodhana
• Karṇa

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how political-military counsel can be delivered with confidence and even amusement, foreshadowing ethical strain: a ‘plan’ (upāya) may be clever, yet its moral worth depends on whether it aligns with dharma rather than mere advantage.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates that Karṇa, smiling, addresses Duryodhana and announces that he has conceived a specific stratagem, urging the king to listen carefully to the proposed course of action.