तस्याहं व्यसन घोरें मन्ये प्राप्तं तु संजय । श्वैतस्य च विनाशेन भीष्मस्य विजयेन च
tasyāhaṁ vyasana ghore manye prāptaṁ tu sañjaya | śvaitasya ca vināśena bhīṣmasya vijayena ca ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Sañjaya, I think a dreadful calamity has befallen him—both because Śvaita has been destroyed and because Bhīṣma has gained victory.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
The verse highlights how outcomes in war—victory for one side and the loss of valued allies on the other—are experienced as moral and emotional calamity, reminding rulers that attachment to power and partisan triumph often deepens suffering rather than resolving it.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra reacts to battlefield news reported by Sañjaya, concluding that a severe setback has occurred: Śvaita has been slain, and Bhīṣma has prevailed, signaling a grim turn in the conflict for the party Dhṛtarāṣṭra is concerned about.