Shloka 129
अध्याय १४८ — कर्णप्रभावः, धृष्टद्युम्नस्य विरथता, तथा घटोत्कच-आह्वानम्
Chapter 148: Karṇa’s Pressure, Dhṛṣṭadyumna Unhorsed, and the Summoning of Ghaṭotkaca
कृतजप्यस्य तस्याथ वृद्धक्षत्रस्यथ भारत । प्रोत्तेिछठतस्तत् सहसा शिरो5गच्छद् धरातलम्,भरतनन्दन! जप समाप्त करके जब वृद्धक्षत्र सहसा उठने लगे, तब उनकी गोदसे वह मस्तक पृथ्वीपर जा गिरा
kṛtajapyasya tasyātha vṛddhakṣatrasya tha bhārata | protteṣṭhatas tat sahasā śiro 'gacchad dharātalam, bharatanandana ||
Sañjaya sprach: „O Bhārata, als der betagte Vṛddhakṣatra sein Murmeln beendet hatte und plötzlich aufstand, fiel das Haupt, das auf seinem Schoß geruht hatte, sogleich zu Boden—o Wonne der Bharatas.“ Der Augenblick zeigt die düstere moralische Last des Krieges: Selbst mitten in frommen Handlungen dringen die Folgen der Gewalt und der Zerfall familiärer Bande mit erschütternder Unmittelbarkeit ein.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the fragility of human control: even after a pious act like japa, the harsh results of adharma and war erupt into one’s immediate reality. It suggests that ritual alone cannot shield one from the moral and emotional consequences of collective wrongdoing.
Sañjaya reports that the aged Dhṛtarāṣṭra, having finished his japa, suddenly stands up; at that moment a severed head that had been lying on his lap slips and falls to the ground, intensifying the scene’s horror and grief.