Shloka 11
अध्याय १ — न्यग्रोधवनोपवेशनम् तथा द्रौणिनिश्चयः
Night at the Banyan and Drauṇi’s Resolve
कथं हि वृद्धमिथुनं हतपुत्र॑ं भविष्यति । न हाहं पाण्डवेयस्य विषये वस्तुमुत्सहे
kathaṁ hi vṛddhamithunaṁ hataputraṁ bhaviṣyati | na hāhaṁ pāṇḍaveyasya viṣaye vastum utsahe |
Sañjaya said: “How indeed can we—an aged husband and wife, bereft of our sons—go on living? Alas, I do not have the heart to remain within the dominion of the Pāṇḍava prince (Yudhiṣṭhira).”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the moral-psychological aftermath of war: victory and rightful rule do not erase the human cost. It highlights how grief and loyalty can make even a legitimate political order feel uninhabitable to those shattered by loss.
Sañjaya voices despair on behalf of an elderly couple who have lost their sons, saying they cannot imagine continuing life and that he cannot bring himself to remain in the territory ruled by the Pāṇḍava prince (understood as Yudhiṣṭhira) after the catastrophe.