Shloka 14

Dvaipāyana-hrade Duryodhanasya Māyā — Yudhiṣṭhirasya Dharmoktiḥ (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 30)

Devanagari script

दुर्योधन उवाच दिष्ट्या पश्यामि वो मुक्तानीदृशात्‌ पुरुषक्षयात्‌

Transliteration

duryodhana uvāca diṣṭyā paśyāmi vo muktān īdṛśāt puruṣakṣayāt

Translation

ทุรโยธน์กล่าวว่า—ด้วยบุญวาสนา ข้าเห็นพวกเจ้าทั้งหมดรอดพ้นจากการล้มตายของมนุษย์อันน่าสยดสยองเช่นนี้

Word by Word

• दुर्योधनः: Duryodhana
• दुर्योधनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुर्योधन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उवाच: said
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: Perfect (Paroksha-bhuta), Third, Singular

• दिष्ट्या: by good fortune; fortunately
• दिष्ट्या: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिष्टि
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• पश्यामि: I see
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: Present, First, Singular

• वः: you (all)
• वः: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Accusative, Plural

• मुक्तानि: freed; released; saved
• मुक्तानि: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मुक्त
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• ईदृशात्: from such (a)
• ईदृशात्: Apadana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ईदृश
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Ablative, Singular

• पुरुषक्षयात्: from the destruction of men; massacre
• पुरुषक्षयात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुषक्षय
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

Speaker

दुर्योधन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Duryodhana

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

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.

What is happening in the narrative?

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.