Shloka 8
Karṇa-nidhana-śravaṇa, Kṣaya-Varṇana, and Śeṣa-sainika-nirdeśa
Hearing of Karṇa’s Fall, Accounting of Losses, and Naming of Remaining Warriors
राजानं विदुरश्नापि प्रज्ञाचक्षुषमी श्वरम् । आश्वासयामास तदा सिज्चंस्तोयेन कौरवम्,तत्पश्चात् विदुरने भी ऐश्वर्यशाली कुरुवंशी प्रज्ञाचक्षु राजा धृतराष्ट्रकरे ऊपर जल छिड़ककर उन्हें होशमें लानेकी चेष्टा की
rājānaṃ viduraś cāpi prajñācakṣuṣam īśvaram | āśvāsayām āsa tadā siñcann toyena kauravam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Then Vidura, too, sought to console the king—Dhṛtarāṣṭra, the lordly Kaurava who, though blind in body, was endowed with inner discernment—sprinkling him with water in an effort to revive and steady him. The scene underscores Vidura’s compassionate duty: even amid the moral collapse brought on by war, he acts to restore composure and guide the ruler back toward clarity and restraint.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in catastrophic circumstances, dharmic conduct includes compassionate care and steadying counsel. Vidura’s act—reviving and consoling the shaken king—models ethical responsibility: restoring clarity and self-control in a ruler is itself a form of service to dharma.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that Vidura approaches Dhṛtarāṣṭra, who is overwhelmed, and tries to bring him back to composure by consoling him and sprinkling water on him—an immediate, practical gesture to revive and calm the king.