धृतराष्ट्र उवाच
एकवीरवधे मोघा शक्तिः सूतात्मजे यदा ॥
कस्मात् सर्वान् समुत्सृज्य स तां पार्थे न मुक्तवान् ॥
तस्मिन् हते हता हि स्युः सर्वे पाण्डवसृञ्जयाः ॥
एकवीरवधे कस्मान् न युद्धे जयम् आदधत् ॥
आहूतो न निवर्तेयम् इति तस्य महाव्रतम् ॥
स्वयम् आह्वयितव्यः स सूतपुत्रेण फल्गुनः ॥
ततो द्वैरथम् आनीय फल्गुनं शक्रदत्तया ॥
न जघान वृषा कस्मात् तन् ममाचक्ष्व संजय ॥
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca
ekavīravadhe moghā śaktiḥ sūtātmaje yadā ||
kasmāt sarvān samutsṛjya sa tāṃ pārthe na muktavān ||
tasmin hate hatā hi syuḥ sarve pāṇḍavasṛñjayāḥ ||
ekavīravadhe kasmān na yuddhe jayam ādadhat ||
āhūto na nivarteyam iti tasya mahāvratam ||
svayam āhvayitavyaḥ sa sūtaputreṇa phalgunaḥ ||
tato dvairatham ānīya phalgunaṃ śakradattayā ||
na jaghāna vṛṣā kasmāt tan mamācakṣva saṃjaya ||
"When the dart of the son of the suta was spent on killing a single hero [Ghatotkacha] — why, abandoning all, did he not send it into Partha? For with his death would have perished all the Pandavas and Srinjayas; why, having killed a single hero, did he not secure victory in battle? 'Called forth, I shall not retreat' — such is the great vow of him [Arjuna]; he himself, Phalguna, must be called forth by the son of the suta. Then, having brought Phalguna to a duel, why did the Bull [Karna] not slay him with Shakra's gift? Tell me of that, Sanjaya."
a37fe0b394fd · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:58:11 PM UTC
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Dhritarashtra asks about what for him is bitterest of all: the missed chance to kill Arjuna. It is telling that the blind king, thinking in worldly terms, sees only a blunder, unable to perceive the higher design. The verse teaches that a shortsighted mind measures events by missed gain and does not discern behind them the hand of fate; what seems to him the enemy's slip is in fact the fulfillment of a plan beyond his sight.