The eldest Kaurava, who never disputes that the kingdom is contested and never concedes that this makes the Pandavas' claim equal to his.
Appears in
The birth of the Kuru princes — A blind heir, a pale one and a renunciant's vow leave the succession contested before any of the cousins can walk.
The house of lac — A guest house built to burn: the first attempt on the Pandavas' lives, and the escape that lets them be thought dead.
The Rajasuya sacrifice — Yudhishthira's consecration as emperor — the height of the Pandavas' fortune, and the sight that decides Duryodhana to act.
The game of dice — A king who cannot refuse a challenge plays against a loaded opponent, and stakes his brothers, his wife and himself.
Draupadi in the assembly — Dragged into a full court, the queen puts a question of law to the elders — and every one of them declines to answer it.
The night attack on the sleeping camp — The war has been won and the winners are asleep; three survivors of the losing side walk into their camp in the dark
Embodies
Kinship and enmity — The war is a family quarrel: across the field stand cousins, teachers and elders, all owed reverence.
Dice and dispossession — A kingdom, a wife and a man's own self staked on a rigged game — and an assembly that let the wager stand.
Questions to explore
Does the epic give Duryodhana an argument, or only a grievance?
Why does the text let him be generous to Karna and merciless to Draupadi in the same book?
