Shloka 8
भरतनन्दन! तदनन्तर उस रणभूमिके तिमिराच्छन्न हो जानेपर समस्त सेनाएँ और सेनापति मोहित हो गये ।। धृतराष्ट्र रवाच तेषां संलोड्यमानानां पाण्डवैर्विहतौजसाम् । अन्धे तमसि मग्नानामासीत् कि वो मनस्तदा
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca |
teṣāṁ saṁloḍyamānānāṁ pāṇḍavair vihataujaṣām |
andhe tamasi magnānām āsīt kiṁ vo manas tadā ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “When your warriors, their strength shattered by the Pāṇḍavas, were being thrown into confusion and were sinking in blinding darkness, what was the state of your mind at that time?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, external darkness and inner bewilderment mirror each other: when strength collapses and clarity is lost, the mind becomes the true battlefield. It also subtly reflects Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s own ‘blindness’—a ruler’s anxiety and moral uncertainty when events slip beyond control.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra asks Sañjaya to report the mental condition of the Kaurava side when the battlefield became enveloped in darkness and the Pāṇḍavas had broken their opponents’ power, leaving the armies disoriented and overwhelmed.