Shloka 10

Devanagari script

तदद्य पुण्यहीनो5हमार्तस्वरनिनादितम्‌ । निवेशनं गतोत्साहं पुत्राणां मम लक्षये

Transliteration

tad adya puṇyahīno ’ham ārta-svara-nināditam | niveśanaṁ gato-tsāhaṁ putrāṇāṁ mama lakṣaye ||

Translation

Today I feel bereft of merit; I perceive that the dwelling of my sons resounds with the cries of the distressed, and that their spirit and confidence have ebbed away. The sound itself tells me that suffering has entered our house, and that the consequences of our chosen course in war are now ripening.

Word by Word

तत्that

अद्यtoday/now

पुण्यहीनःdevoid of merit

अहम्I

आर्तस्वरनिनादितम्resounding with distressed cries

निवेशनम्dwelling/abode

गतोत्साहम्with enthusiasm gone; dispirited

पुत्राणाम्of (my) sons

ममmy

लक्षयेI perceive/notice

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Dhṛtarāṣṭra's sons (Kauravas)

niveśana (the Kaurava dwelling/household)

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 highlights the ethical idea that adharma-driven choices in war culminate in palpable suffering: loss of inner strength, public lamentation, and a sense of being 'puṇyahīna'—cut off from auspiciousness due to one’s complicity and past actions.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra, hearing or sensing the atmosphere around him, remarks that his sons’ residence is filled with the cries of the afflicted and that their morale has collapsed—an ominous sign of reversals and losses for the Kauravas in the Drona Parva context.