Mahabharata 9.58.9 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 58, Shloka 9

Duryodhana-patana-anuśocana

The Fall of Duryodhana and the Contest of Restraint

Devanagari script

अतः शत्रुसूदन भीमसेन अपनी उस प्रतिज्ञाका पालन करें और मायावी राजा दुर्योधनको मायासे ही नष्ट कर डालें ।।

Transliteration

ataḥ śatrusūdana bhīmasena sva-pratijñāyāḥ pālanaṃ karotu, māyāvinaṃ rājānaṃ duryodhanaṃ māyayāiva naśyatu. yadi eṣa balam āsthāya nyāyena prahariṣyati, viṣamasthaḥ tato rājā bhaviṣyati yudhiṣṭhiraḥ.

Translation

ฉะนั้น โอ ภีมเสน ผู้ปราบศัตรู จงรักษาปฏิญาณของตน และทำลายทุรโยธน์ผู้ใช้มายาด้วยมายาเอง เพราะหากเขาอาศัยแต่กำลังแล้วโจมตีตามความยุติธรรมอย่างเคร่งครัด พระเจ้ายุธิษฐิระจะกลับตกอยู่ในภาวะเสียเปรียบอันร้ายแรงอีกครั้ง

Word by Word

• यद्येष: if this (one)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदि + एष
• Form: यद्य् (अव्यय) + एष (सर्वनाम, पुं, प्रथमा, एकवचन)

• बलम्: strength, force
• बलम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: बल
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• आस्थाय: having relied on
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-स्था
• Form: क्त्वान्त (अव्ययीभाव/तुमुन्-न), अव्यय; ‘having resorted to/taken support of’

• न्यायेन: by justice, lawfully
• न्यायेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: न्याय
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• प्रहरिष्यति: will strike/attack
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-हृ
• Form: लृट् (भविष्यत्काल), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• विषमस्थः: standing in an uneven/difficult position
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विषम-स्थ
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ततः: then, thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः
• Form: अव्यय

• राजा: the king
• राजा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• भविष्यति: will become
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: लृट् (भविष्यत्काल), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• युधिष्ठिरः: Yudhishthira
• युधिष्ठिरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: युधिष्ठिर
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• वायुदेव (Vāyu-deva)
• भीमसेन (Bhīmasena/Bhīma)
• दुर्योधन (Duryodhana)
• युधिष्ठिर (Yudhiṣṭhira)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a tension between strict fairness (nyāya) and strategic necessity (māyā) in war: when an opponent is deceitful, responding with mere straightforward force may endanger the larger cause and the righteous king; fulfilling a vowed duty may require matching the enemy’s craft to restore balance.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyu-deva addresses his son Bhīma, urging him to keep his pledge to bring down Duryodhana. He warns that if Bhīma attacks only by conventional ‘fair’ strength while Duryodhana remains crafty, Yudhiṣṭhira and the Pāṇḍava cause will fall into a renewed disadvantage.