Dyūta-āhvāna: Śakuni’s Proposal, Vidura’s Warning, and the Summons of Yudhiṣṭhira
Sabhā-parva 51
कवचानि विचित्राणि शस्त्राणि विविधानि च । रथांश्व विविधाकाराज्जातरूपपरिष्कृतान्
kavacāni vicitrāṇi śastrāṇi vividhāni ca | rathāṁś ca vividhākārān jātārūpa-pariṣkṛtān ||
دُریودھن نے کہا—وہ عجیب و غریب زرہیں، طرح طرح کے ہتھیار، اور مختلف ساخت کے رتھ بھی لائے تھے—جو سونے سے خوب آراستہ تھے۔
दुर्योधन उवाच
The verse underscores how sovereignty in the epic is publicly affirmed through tribute: wealth and military resources are offered to the acknowledged ruler. Ethically, it also warns that external grandeur can provoke inner resentment—Duryodhana’s gaze on Yudhiṣṭhira’s success becomes a seed for adharma-driven conflict.
In the context of Yudhiṣṭhira’s great royal rite (Rājasūya) and the grand assembly, allied or subordinate kings arrive bearing lavish gifts—armours, weapons, and gold-adorned chariots. Duryodhana narrates (and implicitly reacts to) this spectacle of Pandava prestige.