Shloka 17
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Duryodhana Saṃvāda on Restraint and Rājānīti
Chapter 50
दुर्योधन उवाच अक्षाम्याच्छादयामीति प्रपश्यन् पापपूरुष: । नामर्ष कुरुते यस्तु पुरुष: सो5धम: स्मृत:
duryodhana uvāca: akṣāmya ācchādayāmīti prapaśyan pāpapuruṣaḥ | nāmarṣaṃ kurute yas tu puruṣaḥ so 'dhamaḥ smṛtaḥ ||
ทุรโยธนะกล่าวว่า “เมื่อเห็นเพียงว่า (ผู้อื่น) กินดีและแต่งกายดี ชายผู้บาปซึ่งไม่เกิดความอามรษะ—ความริษยาและความเดือดดาล—ต่อศัตรู ย่อมถูกนับว่าเป็นคนต่ำช้าที่สุด”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a deliberate moral inversion: Duryodhana treats envy and hostility toward rivals as a mark of manliness, calling the absence of resentment ‘base.’ It reveals his adharma-driven worldview, where competitiveness and spite are normalized as virtues.
In the courtly context of the Sabha Parva, Duryodhana is voicing his inner attitude toward prosperity and rivalry—fixating on others’ visible enjoyment (good food and clothing) and insisting that a ‘proper’ man must resent enemies. This frames his jealousy and antagonism that fuel later conflict.