कस्मिन्न् इदं हते राजन् रथसिंहे बलं तव ॥
एताम् अवस्थां संप्राप्तं तन् ममाचक्ष्व कौरव ॥
तत् तु दुर्योधनः श्रुत्वा द्रोणपुत्रस्य भाषितम् ॥
घोरम् अप्रियम् आख्यातुं नाशकत् पार्थिवर्षभः ॥
भिन्ना नौर् इव ते पुत्रो निमग्नः शोकसागरे ॥
बाष्पेण पिहितो दृष्ट्वा द्रोणपुत्रं रथे स्थितम् ॥
kasminn idaṃ hate rājan rathasiṃhe balaṃ tava ||
etām avasthāṃ saṃprāptaṃ tan mamācakṣva kaurava ||
tat tu duryodhanaḥ śrutvā droṇaputrasya bhāṣitam ||
ghoram apriyam ākhyātuṃ nāśakat pārthivarṣabhaḥ ||
bhinnā naur iva te putro nimagnaḥ śokasāgare ||
bāṣpeṇa pihito dṛṣṭvā droṇaputraṃ rathe sthitam ||
"At whose death, O king, has your army -- lion among chariot-warriors -- come to such a state? Tell that to me, O Kaurava." Hearing this speech of the son of Drona, Duryodhana, bull among kings, was unable to tell the dreadful, unwelcome thing. Like a broken boat, your son sank into an ocean of grief, veiled by tears, seeing the son of Drona standing on his chariot.
834dfa88f9d5 · published Jul 19, 2026, 5:08:17 PM UTC
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Duryodhana, "like a broken boat sinking into an ocean of grief," cannot bring himself to tell his friend's son of Drona's death. It is telling that silence here speaks louder than words: some griefs find no language, and tears speak in their place. The verse teaches that the heaviest truth can sometimes not be uttered to the one it will pierce; compassion at times binds the tongue -- but the irreparable cannot be hidden forever, and the duty to reveal it falls to another.