Shloka 283
धृतराष्ट्रस्य पाण्डवेषु प्रीति-वृत्तान्तः | Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Affectionate Disposition toward the Pāṇḍavas
नानुतप्यामि तच्चाहं क्षत्रधर्म हि ते विदुः । हम दोनोंके युद्धमें पीठ न दिखानेवाले सौ पुत्र मारे गये हैं
nānutapyāmi tac cāhaṃ kṣatradharma hi te viduḥ |
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “I do not grieve for that, for they knew the duty of a kṣatriya. Though my hundred sons—men who did not turn their backs in battle—have been slain, I do not sorrow for them, because they understood warrior-dharma and gave up their lives accordingly.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames death in battle as consistent with kṣatriya-dharma: when warriors knowingly uphold their duty and fall without retreat, the event is presented as ethically intelligible within that code, reducing personal remorse.
In Āśramavāsika Parva, Dhṛtarāṣṭra reflects on the aftermath of the Kurukṣetra war. He states that he does not lament the death of his hundred sons because they fought according to the warrior’s duty and died in battle without turning their backs.