Shloka 13
द्रोणाभिमुखानां निवारण-युद्धम् / Interceptions on the Droṇa-front
नृशंसं तु परं नु स्यात् त्यक्त्वा दुर्योधनं यदि । पुत्रशेषं चिकीर्षेयं कृत्स्नं न मरणं व्रजेत्,यदि मैं दुर्योधनको त्यागकर शेष पुत्रोंकी रक्षा करना चाहूँ तो यह अत्यन्त निष्ठरताका कार्य अवश्य होगा, परंतु मेरे सारे पुत्रोंकी तथा अन्य सब लोगोंकी भी मृत्यु नहीं होगी
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | nṛśaṃsaṃ tu paraṃ nu syāt tyaktvā duryodhanaṃ yadi | putraśeṣaṃ cikīrṣeyaṃ kṛtsnaṃ na maraṇaṃ vrajet ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Would it not be the height of cruelty if, abandoning Duryodhana, I sought to preserve only the remnant of my sons? Yet if I were to do so, perhaps total destruction—death for all—might not come to pass.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a ruler’s ethical conflict between partiality and the greater good: saving some by abandoning the chief wrongdoer may reduce overall ruin, yet it can feel morally brutal and disloyal. It exposes how attachment to a favored person can trap one between compassion for many and loyalty to one.
In the midst of the war’s grim reports, Dhṛtarāṣṭra reflects aloud: if he were to renounce Duryodhana and try to protect the remaining sons, it would seem extremely cruel toward Duryodhana, but it might prevent the complete annihilation of his lineage and avert total catastrophe.