Shloka 9
अर्जुन-माहात्म्य-चिन्ता
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Appraisal of Arjuna’s Strategic Supremacy
मन्युस्तस्य कथं शाम्येन्मन्दान् प्रति य उत्थित: । निश्चय ही द्रोणाचार्य और कर्णका वध हो जानेपर हमारे पक्षके लोग शान्त हो जायूँगे अथवा अर्जुनके मारे जानेपर पाण्डव शान्त हो बैठेंगे
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | manyus tasya kathaṁ śāmyen mandān prati ya utthitaḥ | niścayaṁ hi droṇācārya-karṇayoḥ vadhe kṛte ’smat-pakṣyāḥ śāntā bhaveyuḥ, athavā ’rjune nihate pāṇḍavāḥ śāmyeyuḥ | kintu ’rjunasya vadhakartā kaścid eva nāsti, jetuṁ ca taṁ loke kaścid na śaknoti | mama manda-buddhi-putrān prati tasya hṛdaye yo manyur utthitaḥ sa kathaṁ praśāmyet ||
قال دِهْرِتَرَاشْتْرَا: «كيف تُسكَّن ثورته، وقد هاجت على أبنائي السفهاء؟ إنّه لَمُحَقَّقٌ أنّه إن قُتِلَ دْرُونا وكَرْنَة خَضَعَ أهلُ جانبِنا؛ أو إن قُتِلَ أرجونا قَعَدَ الباندَفَةُ في سكون. ولكن لا أحد يقدر حقًّا على قتل أرجونا، ولا أحد في العالم يستطيع أن يغلبه. فكيف تُطفَأ الغضبة التي نهضت في قلبه على أبنائي الضالّين؟»
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how unchecked attachment and partiality distort judgment: Dhṛtarāṣṭra recognizes the moral and strategic peril created by his sons’ folly, yet frames the crisis in terms of fear and inevitability. It also underscores a dharmic warning—wrongdoing provokes enduring enmity (manyu), and power without righteousness cannot secure peace.
In Udyoga Parva’s pre-war negotiations and anxieties, Dhṛtarāṣṭra reflects on the coming conflict. He reasons that either the Kauravas will collapse if their great champions fall, or the Pāṇḍavas will be subdued only if Arjuna is killed—yet he believes Arjuna cannot be slain or conquered. Therefore he worries that the Pāṇḍavas’ anger against his sons will not be appeased.