Duryodhana
Indian mythology · king · ambition, envy, kingly pride
Eldest of the hundred Kaurava brothers, whose refusal to yield the Pandavas so much as five villages made the war inevitable. Even his enemies granted him courage and generosity, to everyone but his cousins.
Stories
The Dice Game
Shakuni's loaded dice strip Yudhishthira of kingdom, brothers, himself, and at last Draupadi. Dragged into the assembly, she is saved from disrobing by Krishna's grace while Bhishma and Vidura sit in shamed silence and Dushasana pulls at her robe; her unbound hair becomes the war's standing oath.
The Mace Duel
With his hundred brothers dead, Duryodhana rises from a lake for the last fight. Balarama watches his two pupils circle; Bhima, losing, strikes below the belt at Krishna's signal and shatters the thigh he swore to break in the dice hall. Dharma and vengeance settle their accounts in one blow.