Kauravas
Duryodhana
दुर्योधन
The Eldest Kaurava
Who was Duryodhana?
Duryodhana (दुर्योधन): The Eldest Kaurava, one of the Kauravas in the Mahabharata. The eldest of the 100 sons of Dhritarashtra and Gandhari.
Quick Facts
| Sanskrit name | दुर्योधन |
|---|---|
| Title / Epithet | The Eldest Kaurava |
| Faction | Kauravas |
| Key traits | Ambitious, Proud, Jealous |
| Featured in | 316 stories |
About Duryodhana
The eldest of the 100 sons of Dhritarashtra and Gandhari. From birth, omens predicted he would bring about the destruction of the Kuru lineage. His fierce rivalry with the Pandavas leads to the great war.
In Their Words
It is clear that this son of yours will bring about the destruction of this lineage.
Duryodhana
Traits
- Ambitious
- Proud
- Jealous
Stories Featuring Duryodhana
316 tales on this site name Duryodhana, in canonical reading order.
- The Terrible VowThe Sacrifice of Devavrata
- The Niyoga of VyasaThe Birth of the Kurus
- The Birth of the PrincesChildren of the Gods and the Iron Womb
- The Divine ChildKrishna's life is the Mahabharata's answer to the question: What does God look like when God walks among us? The answer...
- A Royal Childhood at HastinapuraPandavas, Kauravas, and the Lessons of Drona
- Drona and DrupadaThe Broken Friendship
- The Bird's Eye and the CrocodileDrona's Tests of Arjuna
- The Tournament of ChampionsThe Rise of Arjuna and the Arrival of Karna
- Escape from the FlamesThe lac house episode teaches that evil, no matter how carefully planned, cannot triumph over righteousness...
- The House of Lac and the DemonsThe Pandavas' First Exile
- Draupadi's SwayamvaraThe Choosing of Her Husband
- The Impossible ChallengeDestiny works in mysterious ways. The rejected princes of Hastinapura, believed dead, revealed themselves as the...
- The Ascetics at the GateThe morning five orphans were handed to Hastinapura
- The Twins in the HeathIndra's dancer, a sage's dropped bow, and the children a king carried home
- The Heir ApparentA crown promised, a second fee demanded, and the conquests that frightened a blind king
- The Watch Under the BanianOne brother awake while the rest of the Kurus sleep on bare ground
- The King Who Made Fire SickTwelve years of butter and the appetite it ruined
- Kunti Knows Her SonThe mother who recognised Karna in the arena and stayed silent
- Vidura's Embassy to PanchalaThe envoy sent to bring the Pandavas home from Drupada's court
- The Weighing of the BharataThe gods put the epic in a balance against the four Vedas, and Sauti recites the eighteen books
- The King Who Only BreathedKarna answers Drona with the tale of a minister who took everything but the throne
- The Branch That LeftThe Kurus who moved away and died in the war anyway
- The Charioteer's SonAdhiratha, the father Karna chose
- The Poisoned PrinceBhima at Pramanakoti and the naga realm
- The Birth of DuryodhanaA doom announced and ignored
- The Stranger at the WellHow the Kuru princes got their teacher
- Kanika's CounselThe advisor a frightened king wanted
- Half a KingdomOne sitting of the Kuru court decides everything
- Anga, the Kingdom Karna Was GivenA crown thrown like a challenge
- Gandhara, Land Beyond the IndusThe kingdom that sent a queen and a gambler
- The Imperial SacrificeIndraprastha, Jarasandha, and the Rajasuya Yagna
- The Palace of IllusionsMayasura's Masterpiece and the Laughter That Started a War
- The Imperial CeremonyThe Rajasuya story contains a profound teaching about divine patience and justice. Krishna endured ninety-nine insults...
- The Dice GameThe Game That Changed Everything
- The Fateful GameAddiction blinds even the wisest of men. Yudhishthira, known for his righteousness, lost everything - his wealth, his...
- The Infinite SariIn our darkest hour, when all worldly help fails, surrender to the Divine is our last and most powerful refuge...
- Vikarna, the Kaurava Who SpokeOne Voice in the Dice Hall
- The Fall of DharmaThe Fall of Dharma teaches the most terrifying lesson of the Mahabharata: that evil does not triumph through its own...
- The Vow of the Soft TongueVyasa's warning, and the promise Yudhishthira made instead
- What the Blind King Was ToldDuryodhana's inventory of the rajasuya, and the quarrel it started
- The Honey-Gatherer on the CliffVidura's last warnings, and the answer he got
- The Second ThrowOne cast of the dice for thirteen years
- The Road Out of HastinapuraWhat Vidura read in the way they walked
- The Errand Vidura Did Not WantCarrying the invitation to the dice game he had begged the king not to send
- The Kingdom Given BackDhritarashtra releases the Pandavas and returns everything they lost
- The Vows Sworn Before ExileFour brothers name their killings on the way out of the dice hall
- The Uncle Who StayedShakuni of Gandhara, without the legends
- Thirteen Years of FireThe exile teaches that suffering, accepted with dignity and used as a forge, transforms weakness into strength. The...
- The Ghosha YatraDuryodhana Goes to Mock the Exiles and Is Saved by Them
- Draupadi's Trials in ExileThe Sari, the Sage, and a Question to a Queen
- The Ones Who Would Not Turn BackThe city walks out with its kings, and a sage answers the weeping
- The Cow Who Wept for the Weaker CalfIndra learns why a mother's love is not divided equally
- The Curse on Duryodhana's ThighA sage asks politely once, and is answered with a scratched foot
- The Promise Made in the Kamyaka WoodsThe allies arrive, and Draupadi asks Krishna what her friendship is worth
- The Court of Sages at the Dvaita LakeAn exile that filled up with brahmanas instead of soldiers
- When Forgiveness Is Not a VirtueAn angry queen quotes an asura grandfather at a patient king
- The Queen Who Put God on TrialA bird on a string, and a child breaking its toys
- The Blind King Counts the OddsA father adds up his enemies and hears whose fault it was
- The Council at PrabhasaThe Yadavas find the exiles on the shore and argue about ending the exile by force
- The Golden PloughThe sacrifice a king held because the one he wanted was forbidden him
- The Terrible GuestDurvasa and the single grain of rice
- The Night Among the DanavasDespair flattered into destiny
- Karna's Conquest of the WorldGreatness spent on an unworthy debt
- Chitrasena, Friend in Two WorldsThe arts master of heaven
- The Boon Bought With a HeadA small favour saved for one day of the war
- The Counselor Sent AwayThrown out of the court, and back the same week
- Dvaitavana, the Lake of QuestionsThe exile forest of hermits and reckonings
- The Year of MasksThe Virata Parva shows that even the mightiest must sometimes hide and endure. The Pandavas could have fought - but...
- The Year of DisguiseThe Pandavas Hidden at Virata's Court
- The Northern Cattle RaidBrihannala Turns the Chariot
- What Dhaumya Told Them About KingsThe rules for living inside another man's palace
- The Goddess on the Road to MatsyaA king with nothing left prays walking
- The Hands Marked With CornsA night in the kitchen, and everything she had not said
- The Pyre and the Uprooted TreeA hundred and five kinsmen and one bound woman
- Where a Good King Must Be LivingThe Kuru court tries to find five men by their weather
- The Ten Names of ArjunaA frightened prince demands proof at the burning ground
- The Quarrel Before the CattleAshwatthama tells Duryodhana what his kingdom is made of
- The Day Karna RanThe boast in the dice hall, answered at last
- The Grandsire Under the Golden PalmCelestial weapons, and Indra dropping flowers
- The Sleep Weapon and the Robes for the DollsSix great warriors disarmed, and a promise kept to some girls
- Five Men on the ThronesThe morning the servants stopped pretending
- The Messenger of PeaceThe Divine Revelation in Hastinapura
- The Secret of the SunA Mother's Plea, A Warrior's Promise
- Uluka's EmbassyThe Last Words Before the War
- The Eve of BattleLast Embassies Before Kurukshetra
- The Choice at DwarakaTen crore soldiers on one side of the bed, one unarmed man on the other
- The Net and the Mountain HoneyTwo birds who quarrelled in flight, and a cliff nobody came down from
- How a Charioteer Came to Know GodThe blind king asks why the sight was given to a suta
- The Braid She Refused to BindDraupadi answers Bhima's peace with her own hair
- What Kunti Sent Instead of ComfortA mother counts her sons aloud, then tells them to fight
- The Meal He Chose to EatA king's banquet refused, a servant's supper accepted
- Garuda's Map of the WorldThe four directions described from a bird's back
- The Ascetic Who Would Not Be CarriedA thought Garuda never spoke aloud costs him his wings
- The Choosing of the GeneralissimoFive brothers name five different men, and Krishna names the sixth
- The Cities of TentsTwo capitals raised on Kurukshetra before a single arrow
- The Consecration of the GrandsireBhishma takes command on two conditions, and the sky rains blood
- Twenty-Three Days on the SaraswatiBhishma fights his own preceptor and neither man can win
- The Yaksha Who Lent His ManhoodSthuna, Sikhandini, and the curse that made the loan permanent
- The Question of DaysEach commander prices the enemy army in mornings
- The Tree and the ForestKrishna answers Sanjaya at Upaplavya and decides to go to the Kurus himself
- Arjuna's Message to the KurusSanjaya recites the message in open court, and names every man who will die
- Madhavi Chooses the ForestAt her own swayamvara she passes over every king and takes the woods for a husband
- The March to KurukshetraDuryodhana walks out on the last counsel and orders the host to move that same day
- The Cat Who Played the HermitDuryodhana's last message to Yudhishthira is a fable about a holy man who ate his worshippers
- The Sacrifice of BattleDuryodhana makes the coming war his own rite, and his father disowns him for it
- Poverty Is a Person's DeathYudhishthira tells Krishna why a ruined man loses his shame, and still asks for peace
- The Kings Who Were Passed OverDhritarashtra reads his son the family's own record of elder sons who never got the throne
- Rukmi, Whom Nobody WantedThe pride that made a man useless
- The King Who Challenged Two HermitsDambhodbhava, and a handful of grass blades
- The Race for AlliesHow eighteen armies were bought before a shot was fired
- The Reckoning of the WarriorsBhishma prices every man on the field, and Karna walks out
- The Song of GodThe Bhagavad Gita teaches that we must perform our duty without attachment to results. The soul is eternal and cannot...
- Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1: Arjuna's DespairArjuna Vishada Yoga - The Yoga of Arjuna's Dejection
- Yuyutsu Crosses the FieldThe One Son of Dhritarashtra Who Chose Dharma
- The Rules of the WarThe Covenant and Its Breaking
- The Eighteen DaysWar spares no one - neither the righteous nor the wicked. The Mahabharata war ended with Pandava victory, but the price...
- Eighteen Days of DestructionThe Kurukshetra War teaches that there is no such thing as a 'clean' war. Even a war fought for the most righteous...
- Kurukshetra Day 1: The Conches SoundThe First Royal Dead
- Kurukshetra Day 2: The Pandavas RallyThe Krauncha Array
- Kurukshetra Day 3: The Garuda and the CrescentKrishna's Patience Fails
- Kurukshetra Day 4: Bhima UnboundEight Brothers Fall in a Day
- Kurukshetra Day 5: The Grandsire's HarvestThe Makara Array
- Kurukshetra Day 6: Into the FormationBhima Cut Off
- The Serpent Prince's SacrificeIravan, Son of Ulupi, and the Price of Victory
- Kurukshetra Day 9: Krishna Takes Up the WheelThe Vow Almost Broken
- The Fall of Bhishma and the EarringsIndra's Gift, the Grandsire's Bed of Arrows
- The Signs Before the WarWhat Vyasa saw in the sky, the cattle and the birth-rooms
- The Hymn Before the ConchesKrishna sends Arjuna down from the chariot to praise the goddess
- The Walk Across the FieldThe king who laid down his armour before the first arrow
- Shveta Against the GrandsireThe Matsya prince who broke Bhishma's bow again and again
- The Grandsire Names the GodDuryodhana asks why he keeps losing and gets a theology instead
- Kurukshetra Day 8: The Rakshasa's HourIravan falls and Ghatotkacha answers for him
- The Son of RishyasringaAlambusha, the illusion-fighter the Kauravas kept for the Pandava sons
- The Pillow of ArrowsBoth armies lay down their weapons for one evening
- Karna at the Grandsire's FeetThe forgiveness that came too late to change anything
- The Herb in the Grandsire's HandA wounded Duryodhana asks Bhishma for reassurance and is given honesty, a pledge, and medicine
- Omens and the Ten Kings Around BhimaDrona reads the signs of Bhishma's last day and sends his son to fight
- The Grandsire Chooses His HourBhishma remembers Santanu's boon and refuses to die in the wrong season
- The Ten Kinsmen Against the Ten SonsDay six: Dhrishtadyumna kills two princes, ten Pandavas duel ten Kauravas, and Bhima goes into the elephants on foot
- The Seventh Day After NoonBhima and Duryodhana wound each other twice, Sanjaya tells the blind king whose fault the war is, and Satanika kills Dushkarna
- Six Duels on the Eighth DayShikhandi with a broken sword, Duryodhana on foot, and a mace that missed
- The Three ColumnsAt midday on the eighth day the Pandava army splits into three attacking bodies, Arjuna's son Iravan is killed, and Bhishma sends twelve warriors to pull Duryodhana out of the fire.
- Ghatotkacha and the Javelin of BhagadattaDuryodhana asks to kill a Rakshasa, and a Rakshasa breaks a javelin on his knee
- The Shield Around BhishmaNinth day: Satyaki trades darts with the grandsire, Abhimanyu unhorses Chitrasena, and Duryodhana orders a wall of men built round Bhishma
- The Wall Before BhishmaEvery Kaurava champion is given one Pandava to stop on the tenth day
- The Last Push on the Tenth DayTenth day: Bhishma asks Yudhishthira to kill him, and the champions of both armies pair off across the field while Dushasana alone stands between him and Arjuna
- The Evening After Bhishma FellBoth armies stop the war for a night, and Arjuna gives the grandsire the only pillow he will accept.
- The Islands Beyond JambudvipaSanjaya measures the seven islands, the world elephants and the sun
- The Pairings of the Second DayArjuna goes at the grandsire, and the field breaks into nine duels
- Kalinga, the Coast of WarriorsElephants between the hills and the sea
- Kurukshetra Day 11: The Teacher Takes CommandDrona's Vow to Take the King Alive
- The Oath of the DoomedSusharma and the Samsaptakas - the Army That Swore to Die
- The Elephant King of the EastBhagadatta, Supratika, and the Missile Krishna Took on His Chest
- Abhimanyu and the WheelThe boy who could enter the formation but not leave it
- The Valiant SonAbhimanyu's story teaches us that true courage is not the absence of fear, but action in the face of certain death. His...
- The Guards of the WheelsYudhamanyu and Uttamaujas
- The Spear Meant for ArjunaThe Death of Ghatotkacha
- The Fall of the GuruThe Half-Lie of the Dharma King
- The Guard Drona Had To KillSatyajit of Panchala, and the promise Arjuna left behind him
- The Banners and the BowsSanjaya names every standard on the field
- The Gandhara Brothers and the War of IllusionsShakuni fights the only battle he ever fought himself
- The Night the Sindhu King Asked to LeaveJayadratha wants his horses saddled, and Drona tells him the truth
- What Krishna Told His CharioteerThe night Krishna decided to break his own vow
- The Cart, the Lotus and the NeedleDrona builds an array forty-eight miles deep to hide one man
- The Blessing at the GateArjuna asks his teacher's leave to break his teacher's line
- The Armour of MantrasThe one day Duryodhana stood in front of Arjuna and did not fall
- The Lake and the Hall of ArrowsKrishna unyokes the horses in the middle of the battle
- Kurukshetra Day 14: The Longest DaySunset Vow, False Dusk, and a Battle That Would Not Stop at Nightfall
- The Order Yudhishthira GaveA king overrules the guard his brother posted
- The King Counts His ArmyEvery soldier paid, examined and willing, and still losing
- The Grandson of Shini Crosses the OceanOne chariot sent through the whole Kaurava host
- The Second Man SentBhima's crossing and the roar agreed on beforehand
- The Bow Tip and the BoastKarna keeps his word to Kunti and pays for it in insults
- The Arrows He Did Not Want to ShootArjuna, Kripa, and a lesson in arms turned back on its teacher
- One Man Against an Army of the NightAshwatthama burns a full akshauhini of Ghatotkacha's rakshasas
- The Oath of a Bereaved FatherThe house of Bahlika ends in a single night
- Three Men and a Drawn SwordKarna boasts, Kripa answers, and Ashwatthama draws on his own side
- The Night They Lit the FieldDuryodhana's order that turned a battlefield into a lamp-lit hall
- What Krishna Had Already DoneArjuna asks, and gets a list he did not expect
- The Dart That Was Never ThrownA blind king asks the only question that mattered
- Kurukshetra Day 15: The Day the Teacher DiedFrom the Dawn Prayers to the Half-Truth at Noon
- The Weapon That Would Not Burn ThemAshwatthama's fire, and why it left two men standing
- The Sword That Broke on the ShieldAbhimanyu strips a king of everything, and Jayadratha comes down off his car to stop him
- The Two MacesBhima sends Abhimanyu aside and meets the king of Madra blow for blow until both men fall
- The Guard at the WheelKumara of Panchala checks Drona in front of Yudhishthira's chariot, and pays for it
- The Elephant Corps and the King of AngaBhima breaks Duryodhana's elephant division and beheads the Anga king in mid-fall
- The King on FootDrona breaks Yudhishthira's bow, dart, mace and car, and the king escapes on Sahadeva's chariot
- The Dice That Turned Into ArrowsDrona rebukes the fleeing Dushasana, and then wakes with a sword over his neck
- The King Who Went In AloneDuryodhana charges the whole Pandava army by himself, and Yudhishthira cuts his bow
- The Stake on the TableDrona tells Duryodhana that the dice in the sabha were arrows, and that Jayadratha is what they are playing for
- The Brahma Weapon AnsweredDrona empties the celestial arsenal at Yudhishthira on the fourteenth night, and the king matches him astra for astra
- The King They Thought Was DeadBhima's mace crushes Duryodhana's chariot, and both armies believe the Kuru king killed
- The Fourth Son Karna Let GoKarna disarms Sahadeva in the night battle and sends him away alive
- Seven Bows Against OneDhrishtadyumna rides at Drona in the night battle and answers seven champions with three arrows apiece
- The King Put Off His ChariotSatyaki kills Duryodhana's horses and driver, cuts his bow at the handle, and the king escapes on Kritavarma's car
- The Two Who RememberedDuryodhana and Satyaki meet on the fifteenth day and talk about their childhood before they fight
- Sword and Shield Against the PreceptorDhrishtadyumna, stripped of car and bow, dances the twenty-one motions to reach Drona
- The Telling in the RoutAshwatthama rides back through a fleeing army to ask what happened, and Kripa has to tell him how Drona was killed
- Karna Takes the FieldThe vow that kept him out of ten days of war, and the grief that brought him into it
- The Consecration of DronaKarna names the Preceptor commander, and Drona names the man he cannot kill
- How Drona Won the Narayana WeaponAshwatthama tells the Kauravas where his father's last astra came from, and the one rule that came with it
- The King Falls Out of His SeatDhritarashtra hears that Drona is dead, faints in his hall, and wakes to ask who was supposed to be guarding him
- The Mouth of the GarudaDrona draws his host as a bird and comes for Yudhishthira on the twelfth morning
- The King of the Fire CityAshwatthama kills Nila of Mahishmati, and Arjuna kills three of Karna's brothers in his sight
- The Blind King Is AnsweredDhritarashtra laments the night after Abhimanyu's death, and his own messenger tells him whose fault it is
- The Road to JayadrathaArjuna breaks through the head of Drona's array on the fourteenth morning, from the omens at dawn to the river of blood
- The Brothers of AvantiTwo kings see Arjuna's horses tire, and one of them walks up to Krishna with a mace
- The Stones and the Golden KingSatyaki kills Sudarsana on the road to Arjuna, and cuts the mountaineers' stones out of the air
- What Drupada Said About DuryodhanaFive kings die in front of Drona in one afternoon, and Drupada names the man who is not on the field
- The Field Krishna Showed HimArjuna is driven at a walk over the ground he has won, and Yudhishthira answers with a hymn
- Bhima's Harvest on the Fourteenth EveningDrona takes the head of the king of Sivi, and Bhima kills with his fists, his palm and a caught dart until the kings call him Rudra
- The Night Falls on the Fourteenth DayAshwatthama breaks the Panchalas after dark, Drona looses the wind weapon, and Krishna pulls Yudhishthira out of a fight he is winning
- The Guard at Drona's Right WheelYudhishthira orders his whole army against Drona, and never gets past Kritavarma
- Duels by TorchlightSix single combats fought by lamplight on the road to Drona's car
- Karna by Night Against the PanchalasThe armies throw down their torches, and the Suta's son scatters Dhrishtadyumna and all of Panchala in the dark
- The Whole Host Against DronaYudhishthira sends every man he has at the preceptor, and the fifteenth morning breaks into duels
- The Arrow Cut in the AirSatyaki saves Dhrishtadyumna from the preceptor's shaft and holds three great bowmen at once, and the day ends with Drona's head in the dust
- Bhima Carried From the FieldAshwatthama's afternoon after the Narayana weapon, and the shaft that took Bhima's charioteer
- Portents Before the Fourteenth DayThe night the sky and the rivers answered Arjuna's vow, and the morning ritual of a king
- The Shape of GhatotkachaSanjaya describes the rakshasa's body, chariot and host as he charges Karna at midnight
- The Fall of VikarnaThe good man on the wrong side
- The Rakshasa Who Came for a DebtAlayudha, and the night that belonged to the man-eaters
- The Commander AccusedDuryodhana tells Drona to his face that he is sparing them
- The Night the Armies SleptA truce called for the moon on the fourteenth night
- Kamboja of the Swift HorsesThe cavalry kingdom of the far northwest
- Kurukshetra Day 16: The Sun-Born CommanderKarna Keeps His Word to Kunti
- Karna and ShalyaThe War of Words on the Chariot
- The Blood VowBhima fulfills the oath sworn over Draupadi's hair
- The Fallen SunKarna's life is the greatest tragedy of the Mahabharata. Born a prince, raised a charioteer's son, cursed by fate at...
- The Fallen SunKarna's story is the Mahabharata's deepest meditation on the cruelty of fate and the power of loyalty. He was denied...
- Kurukshetra Day 17: The Earth Takes the WheelKarna's Last Morning to Karna's Last Hour
- The Word Brought to HastinapuraSanjaya rides through the night with the news of Karna
- Arjuna Against the Preceptor's SonThe duel Ashvatthama could not win twice
- Pandya of the Malaya HillsThe southern king who thought himself greater than Bhishma
- The King Against the KingYudhishthira brings Duryodhana down and Bhima stops the blow
- The Calf and the WheelKarna tells his charioteer the curse that will kill him
- Karna Spares the KingThe armour cut away, and a hand laid on Yudhishthira's shoulder
- The Brothers Bhima CountedDuryodhana's kin fall in handfuls on the seventeenth day
- The Bhargava WeaponKarna spends his teacher's last gift on the Pancalas
- Ashvatthama Asks for PeaceA hand on Duryodhana's wrist while the gods watch
- The Field After the Sun FellShalya counts the dead and the Kauravas walk away
- A Thousand Lamps Around KarnaYudhishthira rises from his bed to look at his enemy
- The Duel the Gods ApplaudedAshwatthama and Bhima fight to a standstill and are carried off senseless by their own drivers
- Sahadeva Against DushasanaThe quiet twin puts one arrow through the man Bhima had sworn to kill
- The Old Preceptor and the Slayer of DronaKripa freezes Dhrishtadyumna until his own driver turns the car and runs
- The King Names the PairsYudhishthira assigns each Pandava his enemy as Karna's array comes on
- Ashwatthama Breaks the King's GuardA roof of arrows over Yudhishthira, and the insult the king threw back
- The Elephant Standard Comes DownDhrishtadyumna leaves Duryodhana without horses, driver, weapons or banner at noon on the seventeenth day
- How Parashurama Won Shiva's WeaponsYears of penance, a war fought with empty hands, and the arsenal that reached Karna
- The Night After DronaThe sleepless camp, four men in a tent, and the thread tied round Karna's wrists
- The First Duels of the Sixteenth DayBhima kills a king off an elephant, Satyaki kills two brothers, and Draupadi's sons kill two more
- Dandadhara of MagadhaTwo brothers on elephants, and the field Krishna made Arjuna look at
- The Kings of the East FallSatyaki, Sahadeva and Nakula break the elephant corps of the eastern kings
- Sutasoma and the Broken ScimitarYuyutsu and Uluka trade blows, and Bhima's son fights Shakuni on foot with half a sword
- Karna and Satyaki ClashOne Vrishni holds the Kaurava army, and the sixteenth day ends in dust
- The Price on Arjuna's HeadKarna offers everything he owns to any man who will point out Arjuna
- The Prince Who Went In for ShikhandiKripa strips Shikhandi on the seventeenth day, and a young ally buys him a way out with his life
- The Gates of Heaven Stand OpenDuryodhana tells his kings that dying well is winning, and Krishna drives Arjuna through what that costs
- Satyaki Unhorses ShakuniThe seventeenth day breaks into single combats, and the gambler of Gandhara is carried off the field by his son
- Arjuna Rides Out for KarnaThe car is yoked again, the omen birds go on ahead, and the field between Arjuna and Karna breaks into duels
- Arjuna Cuts His Way to KarnaAn army ordered to tire one man before Karna kills him
- The Vows Before the Final DuelKarna, Shalya, Krishna and Arjuna each say what they will do when the other man dies
- Karna's Tales of the MadrakasThe abducted woman's curse, the rakshasa's ranking of dirt, and a driver who cannot get off the chariot
- The King of MadraA good man bound by a rash promise to the wrong side
- The Fall of ShakuniSahadeva Keeps His Vow
- Balarama's PilgrimageForty-Two Days on the Sarasvati While the World Burned
- Duryodhana's Last StandShalya, the Twins, and a King in a Lake
- The Fourth CommanderA nephew's water poured on an uncle's head at the foot of Himavat
- Shalya Alone Against FiveThe last commander's one unanswerable morning
- The King on the Mountain of FleshOne elephant breaks an army, and two men bring it down
- Where the Carnage Did Not CeaseArjuna counts every point at which the war should have stopped
- The Last of the HundredBhima closes an eighteen-year account in a single afternoon
- The Oath Comes DueSusharman, his thirty-five sons, and the last of the sworn men
- The Men Who Carried the MeatA king's hiding place sold for a purse
- The Duel on the Southern BankTwo pupils of one teacher settle a war with clubs
- The Verdict at the Fallen KingBalarama's plough, Duryodhana's indictment, and the flowers that fell from the sky
- The Errand Before the GriefKrishna drives to Hastinapura to reach a mother before her curse does
- Duryodhana Rises from the LakeTaunted in the water, the last Kaurava comes up armed and asks for one man at a time
- The Last Words of DuryodhanaBroken-thighed on the field, the Kuru king laments his dead, sends his last words home, and names a general with a dying man's hand.
- The Eighteenth MorningChekitana takes a lance, Suratha takes a single arrow, and Duryodhana is carried off his own field by bolting horses
- The Seventeen HundredShalya's followers charge against orders, and Duryodhana's army breaks twice before he turns it round
- The Afternoon of the Eighteenth DaySatyaki takes Kritavarma's car again, Duryodhana holds the field alone, and the last elephants fall
- The Flight of the Royal LadiesThe last of the eleven armies dies, Duryodhana walks into a lake, and the Kaurava camp runs for Hastinapura
- The Plunder of the Kaurava CampThe victors ride into Duryodhana's empty tents, and Arjuna's chariot turns to ash
- The Muster of the Eighteenth DayAn oath never to fight alone, and the count of what was left of both armies
- The Teacher of MacesBalarama between his two pupils
- The Dice King's SonFathers' games, sons' funerals
- Kripa's Last ArgumentThe morning after Karna, somebody finally says stop
- Kripa, the Man Who Survived EverythingThe Teacher Who Outlived the Age
- The Owl in the Banyan TreeWhat three beaten men argued about in the dark
- The Last ReportThree men bring good news to a dying king
- The Gem on Ashwatthama's HeadDraupadi sits down to starve until the stone is brought to her
- The Duel of the Brahmashira WeaponsAshwatthama and Arjuna loose the world-ending astra at Vyasa's hermitage
- The Aftermath of WarThe Night Massacre, the Women's Lament, and a Curse on Krishna
- The Lament of the WomenStri Parva - The Field of Widows
- The Queen Asks Her QuestionsGandhari puts the victors on trial, and Vyasa stands in the way
- The Queens Who Came a Long WayWhat the Kuru quarrel cost the kingdoms that were only allies
- The Count of the DeadKrishna's blunt answer, and a king who could see where they had gone
- Gandhari Shows Krishna the FieldWith the sight Vyasa gave her, the blindfolded queen walks Krishna through the dead of Kurukshetra
- What Gandhari SawThe blind queen, given sight for one afternoon, walks Kurukshetra naming the dead of both armies
- The Secret of the GodsVyasa tells the blind king why the war was ordained before his eldest son was born
- Bhishma on the Bed of ArrowsFifty-Eight Days of Teaching, and a King Crowned at His Feet
- Karna at RajapuraA bride carried off, a hundred kings unhorsed, and the city a rival gave away
- The Victory Nobody WantedFive brothers, a wife and a sage argue a king back onto his throne
- The Crowning of YudhishthiraA king anointed by the man he could not save
- The Departure of BhishmaThe sun turns north, and the grandsire lets go
- The News Krishna Held BackA grandfather is spared until his daughter refuses it
- Arjuna's Hymn at PartingOn the road to Hastinapur, Arjuna praises Krishna and gives him leave to go home
- Dussala, the Only SisterWhat women inherit from men's wars
- The Wordy DartsFifteen Years of Bhima's Unforgiveness
- The King Asks Leave of His PeopleAn Assembly Absolves the Man Who Ruined It
- The Gift SacrificeTen Days of Giving for the Enemy Dead
- The Night the Dead ReturnedVyasa Calls the Fallen Out of the Ganga
- The Ascent to HeavenBook 18 - The Last Illusion, and the End of the Story
- The Return of the PortionsWho everybody turned out to have been
- Samba and the Dragged CityBalarama's Plough at the Walls of Hastinapura
Places in Duryodhana's Story
Drawn from the stories Duryodhana appears in.
Related Characters
Others counted among the Kauravas.