Mahabharata · 7.138.8–9
॥
Devanāgarī
धृतराष्ट्र उवाच
तेषां संलोड्यमानानां पाण्डवैर् निहतौजसाम् ॥
अन्धे तमसि मग्नानाम् आसीत् का वो मतिस् तदा ॥
कथं प्रकाशस् तेषां वा मम सैन्येषु वा पुनः ॥
बभूव लोके तमसा तथा संजय संवृते ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca
teṣāṃ saṃloḍyamānānāṃ pāṇḍavair nihataujasām ||
andhe tamasi magnānām āsīt kā vo matis tadā ||
kathaṃ prakāśas teṣāṃ vā mama sainyeṣu vā punaḥ ||
babhūva loke tamasā tathā saṃjaya saṃvṛte ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तेषाम् संलोड्यमानानाम्teṣām saṃloḍyamānānāmof those thrown into turmoil; of those cast into confusion
पाण्डवैः निहतौजसाम्pāṇḍavaiḥ nihataujasāmby the Pandavas, their strength broken; by the Pandavas, drained of strength
अन्धे तमसि मग्नानाम्andhe tamasi magnānāmplunged in blind darkness; plunged into blind darkness
आसीत् का वः मतिः तदाāsīt kā vaḥ matiḥ tadāwhat was your thought then; what was your intent then
कथम् प्रकाशः तेषाम् वाkatham prakāśaḥ teṣām vāhow was there light for them; how then was there light for them
मम सैन्येषु वा पुनःmama sainyeṣu vā punaḥor again in my troops; or else in my hosts
बभूव लोके तमसाbabhūva loke tamasāarose in the world, by darkness; arose in the world, by darkness
तथा संजय संवृतेtathā saṃjaya saṃvṛteso enveloped, O Sanjaya; so enveloped, O Sanjaya
Translation
"Of those cast into confusion, drained of strength by the Pandavas, plunged into blind darkness -- what was your design then? How did light arise -- theirs, or in my own hosts -- O Sanjaya, in a world so enveloped in darkness?"
Version
c0cb3425c9dd · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:40:46 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The blind king asks about light amid the dark, and his question is twofold. Dhritarashtra, sightless in body, asks how the warriors gained sight in the gloom; but behind it another question sounds, one he himself does not grasp -- how to dispel the darkness into which he himself cast his line by indulging Duryodhana. It is telling that a blind man asks about light. The verse teaches that the thirst for light lives even in one who cannot see -- and often the one deprived of sight feels more keenly than others how much he lacks illumination.