Shloka 2
Adhyāya 92: Irāvanta-śoka, punaḥ-pravṛttiḥ saṅgrāmasya
Arjuna’s grief and the battle’s renewed intensity
अहन्यहनि मे पुत्रा: क्षयं गच्छन्ति संजय । मन्ये5हं सर्वथा सूत दैवेनोपहता भूशम्,मेरे पुत्र प्रतिदिन नष्ट होते जा रहे हैं। सूत! मेरा तो ऐसा विश्वास है कि हमलोग सर्वथा अत्यन्त दुर्भाग्यके मारे हुए हैं
ahan-y-ahani me putrāḥ kṣayaṃ gacchanti sañjaya | manye 'haṃ sarvathā sūta daivenopahatā bhūśam ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Day after day my sons are being destroyed, O Sañjaya. O charioteer, I am convinced that we are utterly struck down by fate—overwhelmed by misfortune.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between personal responsibility and the tendency to blame fate: Dhṛtarāṣṭra, overwhelmed by grief, interprets the consequences of the war as ‘daiva’ (fate), revealing how sorrow can obscure ethical accountability and clear judgment.
In the midst of the Kurukṣetra war reports, Dhṛtarāṣṭra reacts to Sañjaya’s updates by lamenting that his sons are perishing day after day and concludes that his side is grievously afflicted by destiny.