Shloka 7

Devanagari script

घतरयाट्र उवाच निवर्तितिषु सैन्येषु द्रोणपुत्रेण संयुगे । भृशं शोकाभिततप्तेन पितुर्वधममृष्यता

Transliteration

dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca nivartitiṣu sainyeṣu droṇaputreṇa saṁyuge | bhṛśaṁ śokābhitaptena pitur vadham amṛṣyatā ||

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “When the armies were being driven back in the battle by Droṇa’s son, he—burning with intense grief—could not endure the slaying of his father.”

Word by Word

धृतराष्ट्रःDhṛtarāṣṭra

उवाचsaid

निवर्तितेषुwhen (they) had been turned back / withdrawn

सैन्येषुin the armies

द्रोणपुत्रेणby Droṇa's son (Aśvatthāman)

संयुगेin battle

भृशम्exceedingly

शोकाभितप्तेनtormented by grief

पितुःof (his) father

वधम्killing, slaying

अमृष्यतcould not endure / brooked not

Speaker

घतरयाट्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Droṇa

Aśvatthāmā

armies (Kaurava and Pāṇḍava forces)

battle (saṁyuga)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how grief and attachment can harden into vengeance: when one cannot endure loss, ethical discernment in war collapses, and actions become driven by personal pain rather than dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

After Droṇa’s death, Aśvatthāmā (Droṇa’s son) presses the fight so fiercely that the armies are forced to fall back; Dhṛtarāṣṭra describes him as overwhelmed by grief and unable to bear his father’s killing.