Shloka 27

Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Duryodhana Saṃvāda on Restraint and Rājānīti

Chapter 50

Devanagari script

तत्र सम यदि शक्त: स्यां पातये5हं वृकोदरम्‌ | यदि कुर्या समारम्भं भीम॑ हन्तुं नराधिप

Transliteration

tatra sam yadi śaktaḥ syāṃ pātaye'haṃ vṛkodaram | yadi kuryāṃ samārambhaṃ bhīmaṃ hantuṃ narādhipa ||

Translation

难敌说道：“就在那儿，若我有那等本事，我必当场击倒狼腹者（毗摩）。然而，王啊，若我着手谋杀毗摩，我必遭与尸输波罗（Śiśupāla）同样的下场——毫无疑问。噢，婆罗多啊，仇敌的嘲弄在我心中灼烧。”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'tatra', 'definition': 'there, in that place'}, {'term': 'sam (samaṃ)', 'definition': 'then/thereupon

• also ‘equally, directly’ (contextual adverb)'}, {'term': 'yadi', 'definition': 'if'}, {'term': 'śaktaḥ', 'definition': 'able, capable, competent'}, {'term': 'syām', 'definition': 'I would be (optative of √as)'}, {'term': 'pātaye (pātayeyam)', 'definition': 'I would cause to fall, strike down (causative/optative sense)'}, {'term': 'aham', 'definition': 'I'}, {'term': 'vṛkodaram', 'definition': 'Vṛkodara, ‘wolf-bellied’

• epithet of Bhīma'}, {'term': 'samārambham', 'definition': 'undertaking, enterprise, attempt, aggressive initiative'}, {'term': 'bhīmam', 'definition': 'Bhīma (also ‘terrible’ as an adjective)'}, {'term': 'hantum', 'definition': 'to kill (infinitive of √han)'}, {'term': 'narādhipa', 'definition': 'O ruler of men, O king'}]

Speaker

दुर्योधन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Duryodhana
• Bhima (Vrikodara)
• Shishupala
• Naradhipa (the king addressed)
• Bharata (the one addressed / lineage epithet)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Unchecked anger and wounded pride can drive one toward rash violence, yet awareness of consequences (social, political, and moral) can restrain action. The verse highlights how humiliation becomes an inner fire that shapes unethical intentions even when outward action is checked.

What is happening in the narrative?

Duryodhana confesses that he wanted to kill Bhīma on the spot, but he believes that attempting it would bring immediate ruin upon himself—like Śiśupāla’s downfall. He admits that the enemy’s ridicule torments him, revealing the psychological pressure behind his hostility toward the Pāṇḍavas.