Shloka 14
Dvaipāyana-hrade Duryodhanasya Māyā — Yudhiṣṭhirasya Dharmoktiḥ (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 30)
दुर्योधन उवाच दिष्ट्या पश्यामि वो मुक्तानीदृशात् पुरुषक्षयात्
duryodhana uvāca diṣṭyā paśyāmi vo muktān īdṛśāt puruṣakṣayāt
دریودھن نے کہا—خوش بختی سے میں تم سب کو ایسے ہولناک قتلِ رجال سے نجات یافتہ دیکھ رہا ہوں۔
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
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.
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.