धृतराष्ट्र उवाच
तस्मिन् प्रविष्टे संरब्धे मम पुत्रस्य वाहिनीम् ॥
अमृष्यमाणे दुर्धर्षे किं व आसीन् मनस् तदा ॥
किम् अमन्यन्त सैन्यानि प्रविष्टे शत्रुतापने ॥
दुर्योधनश् च किं कृत्यं प्राप्तकालम् अमन्यत ॥
के चैनं समरे वीरं प्रत्युद्ययुर् अरिंदमम् ॥
के ऽरक्षन् दक्षिणं चक्रं के च द्रोणस्य सव्यतः ॥
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca
tasmin praviṣṭe saṃrabdhe mama putrasya vāhinīm ||
amṛṣyamāṇe durdharṣe kiṃ va āsīn manas tadā ||
kim amanyanta sainyāni praviṣṭe śatrutāpane ||
duryodhanaś ca kiṃ kṛtyaṃ prāptakālam amanyata ||
ke cainaṃ samare vīraṃ pratyudyayur ariṃdamam ||
ke 'rakṣan dakṣiṇaṃ cakraṃ ke ca droṇasya savyataḥ ||
'When that furious one broke into my son's army — unbearable, unassailable — what was your spirit then? What did the armies think, when the scorcher of enemies broke in? And Duryodhana — what deed did he deem fitting to the hour? And who went out to meet him, the hero, the tamer of foes, in battle? Who guarded the right wheel, and who — to the left of Drona?'
c6331754c29f · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:40:46 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The blind king overwhelms the messenger with questions — and in the very anxious haste of them one hears a father's fear for his son. It is telling that all the questions are about one thing: who defended, who covered, who stood as a shield. The verse teaches that in the hour of calamity the heart seeks above all news of the protection of one's own; and Dhritarashtra's anxiety, for all his guilt in the war, is human — behind the fearful questions about wheels and guards beats a father's 'have my own survived?'