Shloka 20
धृतराष्ट्र रवाच सुमहान् संशयो मेउद्य प्रोक्तोडयं संजय त्वया । प्रजा: कथं सूतपुत्र सम्प्राप्ता: श्यामतामिह,धृतराष्ट्र बोले--सूतपुत्र संजय! यह तो तुमने आज मुझसे महान् संशयकी बात कही है। भला, वहाँ रहनेमात्रसे प्रजा श्यामताको कैसे प्राप्त हो गयी?
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca—sumahān saṁśayo me ’dya prokto ’yaṁ sañjaya tvayā | prajāḥ kathaṁ sūtaputra samprāptāḥ śyāmatām iha ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Sañjaya, son of a sūta, today you have spoken to me of a very great doubt. How, merely by being there, have the people here come to a darkened state?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how a ruler’s understanding can be clouded by uncertainty and second-hand reports; it foregrounds the ethical need for clarity and reliable perception before judgment, especially amid war and mass distress.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra reacts to Sañjaya’s description by expressing a strong doubt and asks how the people have become ‘darkened’ (gloom-stricken/obscured) merely by being present there, pressing Sañjaya for an explanation.