Shloka 223
कच्चिन्न निहत:ः शूरो यथान्ये क्षत्रियर्षभा: । सूत! क्या मेरा पुत्र दुःशासन दीनचित्त और पुरुषार्थशून्य होकर कायरके समान भागता हुआ मारा गया। तात! उसने युद्धस्थलमें कोई दीनतापूर्ण बर्ताव तो नहीं किया था। जैसे अन्य क्षत्रियशिरोमणि मारे गये हैं, क्या उसी प्रकार शूरवीर दुःशासन नहीं मारा गया?
kaccin na nihataḥ śūro yathānye kṣatriyarṣabhāḥ | sūta! kiṃ me putro duḥśāsano dīnacittaḥ puruṣārthaśūnyaḥ kṛpaṇavat palāyamāno hataḥ? tāta! sa yuddhasthale kiṃcid dīnatāpūrṇaṃ vyavahāraṃ na kṛtavān? yathānye kṣatriyaśiromaṇayo hatāḥ, kiṃ tathā śūravīro duḥśāsano na nihataḥ?
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Sūta, has the brave one been slain, as other bull-like warriors among the kṣatriyas have been? Tell me—was my son Duḥśāsana, his spirit broken and his manly effort spent, killed while fleeing like a coward? Dear one, did he show any ignoble conduct on the battlefield? As other foremost kṣatriyas have fallen, has not the heroic Duḥśāsana likewise been struck down?”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya ideal of steadfastness in battle and the moral weight placed on courage and conduct. It also exposes how parental attachment can distort ethical judgment—Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s concern is less about justice and more about whether his son avoided ‘ignoble’ behavior and died with honor.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra anxiously questions Sañjaya about Duḥśāsana’s fate. He asks whether Duḥśāsana has been killed like other leading warriors and, crucially, whether he died while fleeing in fear or maintained proper battlefield conduct.