Shloka 11
Droṇanidhana-anantaraṃ sainya-viṣādaḥ and Karṇa-pravṛttiḥ
After Droṇa’s fall: army despondency and Karṇa’s advance
यो रथानां सहस्राणि दंशितानां दशैव तु । अहन्यहनि तेजस्वी निजघ्ने वसुसम्भव:,जो तेजस्वी भीष्म साक्षात् वसुके अवतार थे और युद्धमें प्रतिदिन दस हजार कवचधारी रथियोंका संहार करते थे। उन्हींको यहाँ पाण्डुपुत्र अर्जुनसे सुरक्षित ट्रपदकुमार शिखण्डीने मार डाला है, यह सुनकर मेरे मनमें बड़ी व्यथा हो रही है
yo rathānāṁ sahasrāṇi daṁśitānāṁ daśaiva tu | ahany ahani tejasvī nijaghne vasusambhavaḥ ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra sprach: „Jener strahlende Krieger, aus den Vasus geboren, der Tag für Tag zehntausend voll gerüstete Wagenkämpfer zu erschlagen pflegte—Bhīṣma selbst, die Inkarnation eines Vasu—ist hier von Śikhaṇḍin, dem Prinzen Drupadas, zu Fall gebracht worden, während Arjuna, der Sohn Pāṇḍus, ihn deckte. Als ich dies hörte, wurde mein Herz von Schmerz überflutet.“
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tragic tension between heroic merit and the outcomes of war: even the most formidable and dharmic warrior can fall due to circumstance, strategy, and destiny. It also raises ethical reflection on indirect means in battle—victory may depend not only on strength but on exploiting vulnerabilities, leaving survivors to grapple with grief and moral unease.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra recalls Bhīṣma’s extraordinary daily slaughter of armoured chariot-warriors and laments that such a mighty Vasu-born hero was nevertheless felled when Śikhaṇḍin confronted him with Arjuna’s protection. The king’s statement expresses shock and sorrow at the fall of a pillar of the Kuru side.