Shloka 2
द्रोणपर्व (अध्याय १) — भीष्मनिधनानन्तरं धृतराष्ट्रस्य शोकः, सेनायाः स्थितिः, कर्णस्मरणं च
Droṇa Parva, Chapter 1: Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s grief after Bhīṣma’s fall and the army’s reorientation toward Karṇa
धृतराष्ट्रस्ततो राजा शोकव्याकुललोचन: । किमचेष्टत विप्रर्षे हते पितरि वीर्यवान्,जनमेजयने पूछा--ब्रह्मन! अनुपम सत्त्व, ओज, बल और पराक्रमसे सम्पन्न देवव्रत भीष्मको पांचालराज शिखण्डीके हाथसे मारा गया सुनकर राजा धूृतराष्ट्रके नेत्र शोकसे व्याकुल हो उठे होंगे। ब्रह्मर्ष! अपने ज्येष्ठ पिताके मारे जानेपर पराक्रमी धृतराष्ट्रने कैसी चेष्टा की?
dhṛtarāṣṭras tato rājā śokavyākulalocanaḥ | kim aceṣṭata viprarṣe hate pitari vīryavān ||
Janamejaya said: “Then King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, his eyes distressed and clouded by grief—O best of brahmarṣis—what did that valiant one do when his elder father-figure (Bhīṣma) had been slain?”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical and psychological weight of war: even a king must confront grief and responsibility when revered elders fall. It invites reflection on how leaders respond—through restraint, counsel, or further escalation—when dharma is strained by loss.
Janamejaya asks the reciting sage what Dhṛtarāṣṭra did after hearing of the death of his revered elder (Bhīṣma). The question sets up the next portion of Droṇa Parva by turning attention to Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s reaction and subsequent decisions.