वैशंपायन उवाच
एवं पृष्ट्वा सूतपुत्रं हृच्छोकेनार्दितो भृशम् ॥
जये निराशः पुत्राणां धृतराष्ट्रो ऽपतत् क्षितौ ॥
तं विसंज्ञं निपतितं सिषिचुः परिचारकाः ॥
जलेनात्यर्थशीतेन वीजन्तः पुण्यगन्धिना ॥
पतितं चैनम् आज्ञाय समन्ताद् भरतस्त्रियः ॥
परिवव्रुर् महाराजम् अस्पृशंश् चैव पाणिभिः ॥
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca
evaṃ pṛṣṭvā sūtaputraṃ hṛcchokenārdito bhṛśam ||
jaye nirāśaḥ putrāṇāṃ dhṛtarāṣṭro 'patat kṣitau ||
taṃ visaṃjñaṃ nipatitaṃ siṣicuḥ paricārakāḥ ||
jalenātyarthaśītena vījantaḥ puṇyagandhinā ||
patitaṃ cainam ājñāya samantād bharatastriyaḥ ||
parivavrur mahārājam aspṛśaṃś caiva pāṇibhiḥ ||
Having thus questioned the son of the suta [Sanjaya], grievously tormented by heart's grief, despairing of victory for his sons, Dhritarashtra fell to the ground. The attendants sprinkled him, insensible and fallen, with exceedingly cold, fragrant water, fanning him with fans. Noticing him fallen, the wives of the Bharatas surrounded the great king from all sides and touched him with their hands.
c09dfe3d2642 · published Jul 19, 2026, 2:46:26 PM UTC
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The blind king collapses senseless — his body struck down by the very grief to which he himself opened the door by tolerating wrongdoing: the fruit has ripened, and it is unbearable to carry. The devoted care of his wives and servants shows that even the guilty are not abandoned in their weakness: the mercy of those near does not measure guilt. But no cool water will quench the fire of a grief born of one's own deed. The verse teaches that a calamity we ourselves have nurtured, in its hour, crushes us; that human compassion eases suffering but does not heal its root; and that relief offered from outside is powerless where the affliction lies in an unrepentant heart.