Shloka 513
Duryodhana-śibira-praveśaḥ — The Pāṇḍavas Enter the Kaurava Camp; The Burning of Arjuna’s Chariot
तदिदं निधन प्राप्त को नु स्वन्ततरो मया । अपने धर्मपर दृष्टि रखनेवाले क्षत्रिय-बन्धुओंको जो अभीष्ट है, वही यह मृत्यु मुझे प्राप्त हुई है; अतः मुझसे अच्छा अन्त और किसका हुआ है?
tad idaṃ nidhana-prāptaḥ ko nu svantataro mayā |
Wika ni Duryodhana: “Ngayong dumating sa akin ang kamatayang ito, sino nga ba ang nagkaroon ng mas mabuting wakas kaysa sa akin? Sapagkat natamo ko ang kamatayang ninanais ng mga kamag-anak na Kṣatriya na nakatuon ang tingin sa sarili nilang dharma; kaya kaninong huling hantungan ang hihigit pa sa akin?”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames death in accordance with one’s svadharma—especially the Kṣatriya ideal of meeting death in battle—as an honorable culmination, and shows how characters interpret ethical worth through the lens of duty and social role.
Duryodhana, facing his end, declares that his death is the very kind sought by duty-bound Kṣatriyas, and rhetorically claims that no one could have a better final outcome than his.