Shloka 19
Droṇanidhana-anantaraṃ sainya-viṣādaḥ and Karṇa-pravṛttiḥ
After Droṇa’s fall: army despondency and Karṇa’s advance
नारायणानस्त्रे च हते द्रोणपुत्रस्य धीमतः । विप्रद्रुतेष्वनीकेषु किमकुर्वत मामका:,महात्मा पाण्डुपुत्र अर्जुनने पराक्रम करके संशप्तकोंकी सारी सेनाको यमलोक पहुँचा दिया और बुद्धिमान् द्रोणकुमार अश्वत्थामाका नारायणास्त्र भी जब शान्त हो गया, उस समय अपनी सेनाओंमें भगदड़ मच जानेपर मेरे पुत्रोंने क्या किया?
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca |
nārāyaṇāstre ca hate droṇaputrasya dhīmataḥ |
vipradruteṣv anīkeṣu kim akurvata māmakāḥ ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra sprach: „Als die Nārāyaṇa-Waffe des weisen Aśvatthāmā, des Sohnes Droṇas, unschädlich gemacht war und die Heere in Panik gerieten und die Schlachtreihen zerfielen—was taten da meine Söhne?“
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical and practical burden of leadership in war: when divine force and human strategy fail and troops panic, a ruler must ask what responsible action was taken. Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s anxious inquiry also reflects the moral consequence of attachment—his concern centers on “my sons,” revealing partiality that repeatedly clouds judgment in the epic.
After Aśvatthāmā’s Nārāyaṇāstra has been neutralized and the Kaurava formations are in disarray, Dhṛtarāṣṭra asks what his side (especially his sons) did at that critical moment. The question frames a turning point: panic spreads, and the king seeks an account of Kaurava response under pressure.