Shloka 16

Devanagari script

कथं स्यादवशेषो हि धुर्ययोरभ्यतीतयो: । यौ नित्यमुपजीवाम: क्षमिणौ पुरुषर्षभौ,हमलोग सदा जिन सर्वसमर्थ पुरुषसिंहोंका आश्रय लेकर जीवन धारण करते थे, उन धुरंधर वीरोंके इस लोकसे चले जानेपर अब हमारी सेनाका कोई भी सैनिक कैसे जीवित बच सकता है

Transliteration

kathaṁ syād avaśeṣo hi dhuryayor abhyatītayoḥ | yau nityam upajīvāmaḥ kṣamiṇau puruṣarṣabhau ||

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra sprach: „Wie könnte es überhaupt Überlebende geben, da jene beiden erstrangigen Kämpfer dahingegangen sind? Stets haben wir uns erhalten, indem wir Zuflucht bei jenen geduldigen Helden suchten, Stieren unter den Menschen. Wenn solche Pfeiler aus dieser Welt geschieden sind, wie könnte dann irgendein Soldat unseres Heeres am Leben bleiben?“

Word by Word

कथम्how?

स्यात्could be / would be

अवशेषःa remainder; survivor

हिindeed; for

धुर्ययोःof the two foremost/leading ones

अभ्यतीतयोःof the two who have passed away/departed

यौwho (the two)

नित्यम्always

उपजीवामःwe live by; we subsist on

क्षमिणौpatient; forbearing

पुरुषर्षभौbulls among men; best of men (two)

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Kaurava army (senā)

two leading champions (dhuryau)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the fragility of power structures built on a few exceptional individuals: when the principal protectors fall, collective confidence collapses. It also underscores impermanence in war and the ethical weight of relying on might rather than stable dharma-based order.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra, hearing of the departure (death) of two key champions on whom the Kauravas depended, expresses disbelief that any of his soldiers could survive. His words convey shock, grief, and the sense that the army’s very life depended on those leaders.