धृतराष्ट्र उवाच
दैवेनैव हता यूयं स्वबुद्ध्या केशवस्य च ॥
गता हि वासवी हत्वा तृणभूतं घटोत्कचम् ॥
कर्णश् च मम पुत्राश् च सर्वे चान्ये च पार्थिवाः ॥
अनेन दुष्प्रणीतेन गता वैवस्वतक्षयम् ॥
भूय एव तु मे शंस यथा युद्धम् अवर्तत ॥
कुरूणां पाण्डवानां च हैडिम्बे निहते तदा ॥
ये च ते ऽभ्यद्रवन् द्रोणं व्यूढानीकाः प्रहारिणः ॥
सृञ्जयाः सह पाञ्चालैस् ते ऽप्य् अकुर्वन् कथं रणम् ॥
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca
daivenaiva hatā yūyaṃ svabuddhyā keśavasya ca ||
gatā hi vāsavī hatvā tṛṇabhūtaṃ ghaṭotkacam ||
karṇaś ca mama putrāś ca sarve cānye ca pārthivāḥ ||
anena duṣpraṇītena gatā vaivasvatakṣayam ||
bhūya eva tu me śaṃsa yathā yuddham avartata ||
kurūṇāṃ pāṇḍavānāṃ ca haiḍimbe nihate tadā ||
ye ca te 'bhyadravan droṇaṃ vyūḍhānīkāḥ prahāriṇaḥ ||
sṛñjayāḥ saha pāñcālais te 'py akurvan kathaṃ raṇam ||
"By fate itself you were struck down, and by Keshava's own design; for the Vasavi [spear] went forth, having slain Ghatotkacha as if he were a blade of grass. Karna and my sons, and all the other kings, by this ill-conceived [design] went to the abode of Vaivasvata [Yama]. Tell me once more how the battle went between the Kurus and the Pandavas, when the son of Hidimba had been slain. And who rushed at Drona, with ranks arrayed, the fighters -- the Srinjayas together with the Panchalas -- how did they too wage the battle?"
70e93115d515 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:58:11 PM UTC
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Dhritarashtra recognizes a double cause of the defeat: fate and Krishna's design. It is telling that he uses the bitter word "Ghatotkacha, a blade of grass" -- diminishing the fallen one, unwilling to admit his greatness. The verse teaches that the defeated tend to belittle what took the victory from them; but behind that diminishment lies a helpless attempt at self-consolation: to call a blade of grass the one whose death decided the outcome is to fail to grasp the worth of what has happened.