Shloka 33
बभ्रुवाहन-धनंजययोः संग्रामः
Babhruvāhana and Dhanaṃjaya’s engagement at Maṇipūra
इत्युक्त्वा$<र्तस्वरं सा तु मुमोच धृतराष्ट्रजा । दीना दीन स्थितं पार्थमब्रवीच्चाप्यधोमुखम्,ऐसा कहकर धूृतराष्ट्र-पुत्री दःशला दीन होकर आर्तस्वरसे विलाप करने लगी। उसकी दीनदशा देख अर्जुन भी दीन भावसे अपना मुँह नीचे किये खड़े रहे। उस समय दुःशला उनसे फिर बोली--
ity uktvā ārta-svaraṃ sā tu mumoca dhṛtarāṣṭra-jā | dīnā dīna-sthitaṃ pārtham abravīc cāpy adho-mukham ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Having spoken thus, Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s daughter (Duḥśalā) broke into a lament in a voice choked with grief. Seeing her wretched condition, Pārtha (Arjuna) too stood dejected, his face lowered. Then Duḥśalā addressed him again—framing the scene in the ethical aftermath of war, where kinship and compassion persist amid irreversible loss.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical residue of war: even when duty has been executed, compassion and sensitivity to others’ suffering remain essential. True dharma is not triumphalism but the capacity to acknowledge grief—especially within fractured families.
Duḥśalā, Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s daughter, begins to lament aloud after speaking, and Arjuna stands silently with his face lowered, affected by her misery. She then prepares to speak to him again, continuing an emotionally charged exchange.