Shloka 21
द्वैपायनह्रदे दुर्योधनान्वेषणम् / The Search for Duryodhana at Dvaipāyana Lake
धृतराष्ट्रने पूछा--सूत! जब मेरी सेना मार डाली गयी और सारी छावनी सूनी कर दी गयी, उस समय पाण्डवोंकी सेनामें कितने सैनिक शेष रह गये थे? ।।
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca— sūta! yadā mama senā hatā sarvā ca śibirāṇi śūnyīkṛtāni, tadā pāṇḍavānāṃ senāyāṃ kati yodhāḥ śeṣā abhavan? etan me pṛcchato brūhi, kuśalo ’si sañjaya; yac ca duryodhano mandaḥ kṛtavāṃs tanayo mama.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “O Sūta! When my entire army had been slain and the whole camp left desolate, how many warriors still remained in the Pāṇḍavas’ host? Tell me this, as I ask—O Sañjaya, you are skilled in reporting. And also tell me what my dull-witted son Duryodhana did.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral blindness that follows attachment: Dhṛtarāṣṭra, even after catastrophic loss, focuses on numbers and on his son’s next move. It underscores how clinging to power and kinship can eclipse dharmic reflection and responsibility.
After the Kaurava forces and their camp have been devastated, Dhṛtarāṣṭra questions Sañjaya about the remaining strength of the Pāṇḍavas and asks what Duryodhana did next, setting up a report of the war’s late-stage developments.