Shloka 23

Devanagari script

दारुण: क्षत्रधर्मोडयं विहितो धर्मकर्तृभिः । यत्र राज्येप्सव: शूरा बाले शस्त्रमपातयन्‌,धर्मशास्त्रके निर्माताओंने यह क्षत्रिय-धर्म अत्यन्त कठोर बनाया है, जिसमें स्थित होकर राज्यके लोभी शूर-वीरोंने एक बालकपर अस्त्र-शस्त्रोंका प्रहार किया

Transliteration

dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca |

dāruṇaḥ kṣatradharmodayaṃ vihito dharmakartṛbhiḥ |

yatra rājyepsavaḥ śūrā bāle śastram apātayan |

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Cruel indeed is this so‑called rise of kṣatriya-duty, as it has been laid down by the makers of dharma—where, driven by desire for sovereignty, heroic men have hurled weapons even at a mere boy.”

Word by Word

दारुणःcruel, harsh

क्षत्रधर्मःthe Kshatriya-duty

उदयंrise, emergence

विहितःhas been prescribed/ordained

धर्मकर्तृभिःby the makers/ordainers of dharma

यत्रwherein/where

राज्येप्सवःdesirous of a kingdom

शूराःheroes, warriors

बालेon/against a boy; in the boy (as locus of attack)

शस्त्रम्weapon

अपातयन्they hurled/caused to fall

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

kṣatra-dharma

dharma-kartṛs (lawgivers)

śastra (weapons)

bāla (a boy/child)

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse voices an ethical protest: when the pursuit of power leads warriors to attack even a child, the ‘warrior code’ appears brutally distorted, raising the question of whether social duty (dharma) can justify indiscriminate violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra laments the harshness of the war’s norms, observing that warriors hungry for kingdom and victory have struck at a mere boy—an indictment of how ambition can override restraint and compassion in battle.