Shloka 2
अध्याय ९ — धृतराष्ट्रस्य युधिष्ठिरं प्रति राजनित्युपदेशः
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Counsel on Royal Policy to Yudhiṣṭhira
वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! बूढ़े राजा धृतराष्ट्रके ऐसे करुणामय वचन कहनेपर नगर और जनपदके निवासी सभी लोग दुःखसे अचेत-से हो गये ।। तृष्णीम्भूतांस्ततस्तांस्तु बाष्पकण्ठान् महीपति: । धृतराष्ट्री महीपाल: पुनरेवाभ्यभाषत,उन सबके कण्ठ आँसुओंसे अवरुद्ध हो गये थे; अतः वे कुछ बोल नहीं पाते थे। उन्हें मौन देख महाराज धृतराष्ट्रने फिर कहा--
Vaiśampāyana uvāca—Janamejaya! vṛddhasya rājño Dhṛtarāṣṭrasyaivaṃ karuṇamayāni vacanāni śrutvā nagara-janapada-nivāsinaḥ sarve duḥkhena mūrcchitā iva babhūvuḥ. tṛṣṇīmbhūtāṃs tataḥ tāṃs tu bāṣpa-kaṇṭhān mahīpatiḥ Dhṛtarāṣṭrī mahīpālaḥ punar evābhyabhāṣata.
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Janamejaya, when the aged king Dhṛtarāṣṭra spoke such deeply compassionate words, all the inhabitants of the city and the countryside were overwhelmed by grief, as if stunned. Their throats were choked with tears and they could not speak; seeing them silent, King Dhṛtarāṣṭra addressed them once again.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of compassionate speech and collective empathy: when a ruler expresses sincere karuṇā, the community responds with shared grief and silence, showing how dharma is felt not only as duty but as moral sensitivity to suffering.
After Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s moving words, the people of the city and the wider realm are so overcome with sorrow that they become speechless, their throats choked with tears. Observing their silence, Dhṛtarāṣṭra speaks to them again.