Shloka 29
सुरभि–इन्द्रसंवादः
Surabhi–Indra Dialogue as a Governance Exemplar
ऊरु गजकराकारं करेणाभिजघान स: | दुर्योधन: स्मितं कृत्वा चरणेनोल्लिखन् महीम्,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--राजन! मैत्रेयजी जब इस प्रकार कह रहे थे, उस समय दुर्योधनने मुसकराकर हाथीके सूँड़के समान अपनी जाँघको हाथसे ठोंका और पैरसे पृथ्वीको कुरेदने लगा
ūru gajakarākāraṃ kareṇābhijaghāna saḥ | duryodhanaḥ smitaṃ kṛtvā caraṇenollikhan mahīm ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: “Habang nagsasalita nang gayon si Maitreya, si Duryodhana—nakangiti—ay hinampas ang kanyang hita ng kamay na wari’y nguso ng elepante, at sa kanyang paa’y sinimulang kaskasin ang lupa. Ang kilos na iyon ay tanda ng mapagmataas na pagsuway at paghamak sa payo, at nagbabadya kung paanong pinatitigas ng pagmamataas ang puso laban sa payong ginagabayan ng dharma.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how arrogance and mockery can make a person unreceptive to wise counsel. Ethical guidance (dharma) is not only about hearing advice but also about the humility to accept it; Duryodhana’s gestures embody the opposite disposition.
While Maitreya is speaking, Duryodhana responds nonverbally: he smiles, slaps his thigh with his hand (likened to an elephant’s trunk), and scrapes the ground with his foot—an expression of insolent confidence and contempt rather than respectful attention.