Shloka 31
अध्याय ९ — कर्णस्य प्रहारः, योधयुग्मनियोजनम्, शैनेय-कैकेययोर्युद्धविन्यासः
क्षीण: सर्वार्थहीनश्च निर्ज्ञातिर्बन्धुवर्जित: । कां दिशं प्रतिपत्स्यामि दीन: शत्रुवशं गत:,मैं शरीरसे दुर्बल, सारी धन-सम्पत्तिसे वंचित तथा कुट॒ुम्बीजनों और बन्धु-बान्धवोंसे रहित हो शत्रुके वशमें पड़कर दीनभावसे किस दिशाको जाऊँगा?
kṣīṇaḥ sarvārthahīnaś ca nirjñātir bandhuwarjitaḥ | kāṃ diśaṃ pratipatsyāmi dīnaḥ śatruvaśaṃ gataḥ ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Worn out in body, stripped of all resources, without kinsmen, and bereft of relatives—fallen under the enemy’s control—what direction can I, in my misery, possibly take?”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral and psychological collapse that follows adharma-driven conflict: when power and kinship networks are destroyed by war, a ruler who relied on them faces helplessness and loss of direction. It implicitly warns that attachment to victory and lineage without righteous conduct can end in utter dependence on one’s enemies.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra, hearing of the catastrophic course of the war, voices despair. He imagines himself physically weakened and politically ruined—without wealth, allies, or family support—and asks where he could possibly go when he has fallen under the enemy’s domination.