Shloka 26

Devanagari script

राजा च धृतराष्ट्रोड्द्य श्रुत्वा पुत्र निपातितम्‌

Transliteration

rājā ca dhṛtarāṣṭro 'dya śrutvā putra-nipātitam

Translation

Sañjaya said: And today King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, upon hearing that his son had been struck down, was overwhelmed by the bitter consequence of his own attachment—an ethical turning-point where grief exposes the cost of adharma in war.

Word by Word

• राजा: the king
• राजा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• धृतराष्ट्रः: Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• धृतराष्ट्रः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: धृतराष्ट्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उद्य: having risen / rising up
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: उद्य

• श्रुत्वा: having heard
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral for absolutive)

• पुत्रम्: his son
• पुत्रम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• निपातितम्: felled / struck down
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि + पत्
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra's son (unnamed in this pāda)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how attachment and partiality in leadership culminate in suffering: when adharma is supported, its consequences return as personal grief, even to a king.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Dhṛtarāṣṭra has just heard news that his son has been felled in battle, triggering the king’s sorrow and marking the deepening collapse of the Kaurava cause.