Shloka 8
Droṇa’s Withdrawal, Death, and the Kaurava Rout (द्रोणनिधन-प्रसङ्गः)
भरतनन्दन! तदनन्तर उस रणभूमिके तिमिराच्छन्न हो जानेपर समस्त सेनाएँ और सेनापति मोहित हो गये ।। धृतराष्ट्र रवाच तेषां संलोड्यमानानां पाण्डवैर्विहतौजसाम् । अन्धे तमसि मग्नानामासीत् कि वो मनस्तदा
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca |
teṣāṁ saṁloḍyamānānāṁ pāṇḍavair vihataujaṣām |
andhe tamasi magnānām āsīt kiṁ vo manas tadā ||
قال دِهْرِتَراشْتْرَ: «حين كان رجالك، وقد حطّم الباندافا بأسهم، يُدفعون إلى الاضطراب ويغرقون في ظلامٍ أعمى، كيف كانت حالُ ذهنك في ذلك الوقت؟»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, external darkness and inner bewilderment mirror each other: when strength collapses and clarity is lost, the mind becomes the true battlefield. It also subtly reflects Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s own ‘blindness’—a ruler’s anxiety and moral uncertainty when events slip beyond control.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra asks Sañjaya to report the mental condition of the Kaurava side when the battlefield became enveloped in darkness and the Pāṇḍavas had broken their opponents’ power, leaving the armies disoriented and overwhelmed.