Shloka 7
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय २: संजयस्य दिव्यदृष्टिप्रदानम् तथा निमित्तवर्णनम्
Granting Sañjaya Divine Sight and the Description of Omens
धृतराष्ट्र रवाच न रोचये ज्ञातिवध॑ द्रष्टूं ब्रह्मर्षिसत्तम । युद्धमेतत् त्वशेषेण शृणुयां तव तेजसा,धृतराष्ट्रने कहा--ब्रह्मर्षिप्रवर! मुझे अपने कुटुम्बीजनोंका वध देखना अच्छा नहीं लगता; परंतु आपके प्रभावसे इस युद्धका सारा वृत्तान्त सुन सकूँ, ऐसी कृपा आप अवश्य कीजिये
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca — na rocaye jñātivadhaṁ draṣṭuṁ brahmarṣi-sattama | yuddham etat tv aśeṣeṇa śṛṇuyāṁ tava tejasā ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “O best of Brahmarṣis, I do not wish to witness the slaughter of my own kinsmen. Yet, by the power of your spiritual radiance, grant me the ability to hear—completely and in full detail—the entire account of this war.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between familial attachment and the inexorable unfolding of war: Dhṛtarāṣṭra recoils from the moral horror of kin-slaying, yet still seeks complete knowledge of events—showing how desire for control/knowledge can coexist with avoidance of direct responsibility.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra addresses the sage (invoked as ‘best of Brahmarṣis’) and says he cannot bear to see the killing of relatives, but requests—through the sage’s spiritual power—the capacity to hear the entire, detailed account of the battle.