धृतराष्ट्र उवाच
तस्मिन्न् अस्त्रे प्रतिहते द्रोणे चोपधिना हते ॥
तथा दुर्योधनेनोक्तो द्रौणिः किम् अकरोत् पुनः ॥
दृष्ट्वा पार्थांश् च संग्रामे युद्धाय समवस्थितान् ॥
नारायणास्त्रनिर्मुक्तांश् चरतः पृतनामुखे ॥
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca
tasminn astre pratihate droṇe copadhinā hate ||
tathā duryodhanenokto drauṇiḥ kim akarot punaḥ ||
dṛṣṭvā pārthāṃś ca saṃgrāme yuddhāya samavasthitān ||
nārāyaṇāstranirmuktāṃś carataḥ pṛtanāmukhe ||
[Dhritarashtra said:] 'When that weapon had been repelled and Drona had been killed by deceit, thus addressed by Duryodhana, what did Drauni do next, seeing the Parthas in the battle drawn up for battle, freed from the Narayana weapon, acting [once more] at the head of the army?'
a674f7bcc7b6 · published Jul 19, 2026, 5:12:46 PM UTC
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Dhritarashtra again breaks in with a question that betrays his greedy attention to the fate of his son and his side. It is telling that he himself calls Drona 'killed by deceit' -- the blind king harbors no illusions about the means. The verse teaches that even a biased observer sometimes acknowledges the wrong of his own side; and his question is not so much about Ashvatthaman's deeds as about whether hope still remains where truth has already been lost.