Shloka 5
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
वैशम्पायन उवाच निहतं पितरं श्रुत्वा धृतराष्ट्री जनाधिप: । लेभे न शान्तिं कौरव्यश्चिन्ताशोकपरायण:,वैशम्पायनजीने कहा--जनमेजय! ज्येष्ठ पिताको मारा गया सुनकर कुरुवंशी राजा धृतराष्ट्र चिन्ता और शोकमें डूब गये। उन्हें क्षणभरको भी शान्ति नहीं मिल रही थी
vaiśampāyana uvāca | nihataṃ pitaraṃ śrutvā dhṛtarāṣṭrī janādhipaḥ | lebhe na śāntiṃ kauravyaś cintāśokaparāyaṇaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Hearing that his father had been slain, Dhṛtarāṣṭra—the Kuru king—found no peace. Overwhelmed by anxious brooding and grief, he could not attain even a moment’s calm.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical-psychological cost of attachment: even a king, tasked with steadiness and judgment, can be undone by grief and anxiety when confronted with loss. It implicitly contrasts inner peace (śānti) with the consuming pull of sorrow (śoka) and worry (cintā).
The narrator Vaiśampāyana reports that Dhṛtarāṣṭra, upon hearing that his father has been killed, becomes overwhelmed by grief and anxious thought, unable to find peace even briefly.