दारुणः क्षत्रधर्मो ऽयं विहितो धर्मकर्तृभिः ॥
यत्र राज्येप्सवः शूरा बाले शस्त्रम् अपातयन् ॥
बालम् अत्यन्तसुखिनं विचरन्तम् अभीतवत् ॥
कृतास्त्रा बहवो जघ्नुर् ब्रूहि गावल्गणे कथम् ॥
बिभित्सता रथानीकं सौभद्रेणामितौजसा ॥
विक्रीडितं यथा संख्ये तन् ममाचक्ष्व संजय ॥
dāruṇaḥ kṣatradharmo 'yaṃ vihito dharmakartṛbhiḥ ||
yatra rājyepsavaḥ śūrā bāle śastram apātayan ||
bālam atyantasukhinaṃ vicarantam abhītavat ||
kṛtāstrā bahavo jaghnur brūhi gāvalgaṇe katham ||
bibhitsatā rathānīkaṃ saubhadreṇāmitaujasā ||
vikrīḍitaṃ yathā saṃkhye tan mamācakṣva saṃjaya ||
"Cruel is this law of warriors, established by lawgivers, under which heroes thirsting for a kingdom brought their weapons down upon a child. The child, raised in utter luxury, who roamed the field without fear, was slain by many warriors skilled in arms — tell me, O son of Gavalgana, how this happened. How, wishing to break through the chariot host, the immeasurably mighty son of Subhadra sported in battle — tell me that, O Sanjaya."
e2b4666b557d · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:22:09 PM UTC
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Dhritarashtra condemns the very 'law of warriors' by which grown men skilled in arms killed a child by ganging up on him for the sake of a kingdom. Thus, through the mouth of the blind king, the epic passes judgment on the wrong of war: there are deeds that no dharma can justify, and the killing of a boy by many is among them. It is telling that this condemnation comes from the very side that committed the deed. The verse teaches that not every act cloaked in 'law' and duty is righteous — there is a line beyond which the law itself stands exposed as cruelty; that the thirst for power drives even the valiant to dishonor, against which conscience rises up; and that by placing this judgment on Dhritarashtra's own lips, the epic affirms: killing a child by many hands is a crime that no victory and no appeal to warrior custom can wash away, and its memory falls as an indelible stain upon the victors.