Shloka 10
Karṇa-nidhana-śravaṇa, Kṣaya-Varṇana, and Śeṣa-sainika-nirdeśa
Hearing of Karṇa’s Fall, Accounting of Losses, and Naming of Remaining Warriors
ततो ध्यात्वा चिरं काल॑ नि:श्वस्य च पुन: पुन: । स्वान् पुत्रान् गर्हयामास बहु मेने च पाण्डवान्,तदनन्तर दीर्घकालतक चिन्ता करनेके पश्चात् वे बारंबार लंबी साँस खींचते हुए अपने पुत्रोंकी निन्दा और पाण्डवोंकी अधिक प्रशंसा करने लगे
tato dhyātvā ciraṁ kālaṁ niḥśvasya ca punaḥ punaḥ | svān putrān garhayāmāsa bahu mene ca pāṇḍavān ||
Then, after pondering for a long time and repeatedly heaving deep sighs, he began to censure his own sons and to esteem the Pāṇḍavas highly—an inward moral reckoning surfacing amid the pressures of war and consequence.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights ethical self-assessment: in moments of crisis, one may recognize wrongdoing within one’s own side and acknowledge virtue in the other. It underscores that dharma is not merely partisan loyalty but honest moral discernment.
After a prolonged period of anxious reflection, the speaker’s subject (contextually a Kuru elder/leader figure) repeatedly sighs and then openly reproaches his own sons while expressing high regard for the Pāṇḍavas, signaling regret and a shift in judgment amid the unfolding war.