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Shloka 24

Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Duryodhana Dialogue on Peace and the Refusal of Compromise

यदा द्रक्ष्यसि भीमेन कुञ्जरान्‌ विनिपातितान्‌ । विशीर्णदन्तान्‌ गिर्याभान्‌ भिन्नकुम्भान्‌ सशोणितान्‌,जब तुम देखोगे कि भीमसेनने पर्वताकार गजराजोंके दाँत तोड़ एवं कुम्भस्थल विदीर्ण करके उन्हें रक्तरंजित दशामें धराशायी कर दिया है और वे रणभूमिमें टूट-फ़ूटकर गिरे हुए पर्वतोंके समान दृष्टिगोचर हो रहे हैं, तब उन सबपर दृष्टिपात करके भीमसेनके स्पर्शसे भी भयभीत होकर मेरी कही हुई बातोंको याद करोगे

yadā drakṣyasi bhīmena kuñjarān vinipātitān | viśīrṇadantān giryābhān bhinnakumbhān saśoṇitān ||

杜尤陀那说道:“当你看见毗摩所击倒的巨象——体魄如山,象牙粉碎,颞部裂开、血流遍染——横陈战场,宛如崩裂的群山;那时你目睹此景,便会忆起我所言,甚至仅想到要逼近毗摩的臂力所及,也会战栗恐惧。”

यदाwhen
यदा:
Adhikarana
TypeIndeclinable
Rootयदा
द्रक्ष्यसिyou will see
द्रक्ष्यसि:
TypeVerb
Rootदृश्
FormLृट् (simple future), 2, singular, Parasmaipada
भीमेनby Bhima
भीमेन:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootभीम
Formmasculine, instrumental, singular
कुञ्जरान्elephants
कुञ्जरान्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootकुञ्जर
Formmasculine, accusative, plural
विनिपातितान्felled, struck down
विनिपातितान्:
TypeAdjective
Rootवि-नि-√पत्
Formक्त (past passive participle), masculine, accusative, plural
विशीर्ण-दन्तान्whose tusks are shattered
विशीर्ण-दन्तान्:
TypeAdjective
Rootविशीर्ण + दन्त
Formmasculine, accusative, plural
गिरि-आभान्mountain-like
गिरि-आभान्:
TypeAdjective
Rootगिरि + आभ
Formmasculine, accusative, plural
भिन्न-कुम्भान्with split temples (forehead-globes)
भिन्न-कुम्भान्:
TypeAdjective
Rootभिन्न + कुम्भ
Formmasculine, accusative, plural
स-शोणितान्bloody, with blood
स-शोणितान्:
TypeAdjective
Rootस + शोणित
Formmasculine, accusative, plural

दुर्योधन उवाच

D
Duryodhana
B
Bhima (Bhimasena)
E
Elephants (kuñjara)

Educational Q&A

The verse is not a moral injunction but a rhetorical threat: it highlights how displays of overwhelming force are used to intimidate opponents and shape their resolve. Ethically, it illustrates the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between kṣatriya valor and the corrosive effects of pride, taunting, and fear-driven counsel.

Duryodhana, speaking in the Udyoga Parva, evokes a vivid battlefield image—Bhīma felling massive elephants with broken tusks and split temples—to warn that the addressee will later remember Duryodhana’s words in terror, even at the prospect of encountering Bhīma.