Shloka 46
धृतराष्ट्रविलापः — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament and Inquiry (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 2)
वयस्या भ्रातरश्वैव किमन्यद् भागधेयत: । हाय! मेरे महाबली पुत्र, पौत्र, मित्र और भाई-बन्धु सभी मार डाले गये, इसे दुर्भाग्यके सिवा और क्या कहूँ? ।। भागधेयसमायुक्तो ध्रुवमुत्पद्यते नर:
vayasyā bhrātaraś caiva kim anyad bhāgadheyataḥ | hāy! me mahābalī putrāḥ pautrā mitrāṇi bāndhavāś ca sarve māritāḥ, etad durbhāgyāt paraṃ kim vadāmi || bhāgadheya-samāyukto dhruvam utpadyate naraḥ ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra sprach: „Freunde und Brüder—wie sollte man dies anders nennen als Schicksal? Weh mir! All meine mächtigen Söhne, meine Enkel, meine Freunde und meine Verwandten sind erschlagen. Wie könnte ich es nennen, wenn nicht reines Unglück? Der Mensch, an den ihm zugeteilten Anteil des Geschicks gebunden, gelangt gewiss zu einem Ende wie diesem.“
धघतयाट्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the tension between human responsibility and the sense of being driven by destiny: in overwhelming grief, Dhṛtarāṣṭra interprets the annihilation of his family as bhāgadheya (allotted fate), highlighting how fatalism can arise when one confronts the consequences of war.
After the catastrophic losses in the Kurukṣetra war, Dhṛtarāṣṭra mourns the death of his sons, grandsons, friends, and relatives, and voices a despairing conclusion that such an outcome is nothing but misfortune and destiny fulfilled.