Shloka 7
अद्य मे केकया लब्धा: काशिका: कोसलाश्ष ये । चेदयश्नापरे वड़ा मामेव समुपाश्रिता:,सूत संजय! आजसे बहुत पहलेकी बात है, मूर्ख दुर्योधनने मुझसे कहा था कि “पिताजी! इस समय केकय, काशी, कोसल तथा चेदिदेशके लोग मेरी सहायताके लिये आ गये हैं। दूसरे वंगवासियोंने भी मेरा ही आश्रय लिया है। तात! इस भूमण्डलका बहुत बड़ा भाग मेरे साथ है, अर्जुनके साथ नहीं है”
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | adya me kekayā labdhāḥ kāśikāḥ kosalāś ca ye | cedayaś cāpare vaṅgā mām eva samupāśritāḥ | sūta sañjaya |
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “O Sūta Sañjaya, today the Kekayas have been secured for my side, as well as the men of Kāśī and Kosala. The Cedis too, and other Vaṅgas, have taken refuge in me alone.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral danger of equating strength with righteousness: political alliances and numerical support can inflate pride, but they do not guarantee dharma or rightful victory.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra addresses Sañjaya and recalls how Duryodhana claimed that major kingdoms—Kekaya, Kāśī, Kosala, Cedi, and Vaṅga—had aligned with him, implying that the balance of worldly power favored the Kauravas over Arjuna.