Shloka 8

स्त्रीपर्व — नवमोऽध्यायः | Dhṛtarāṣṭra summons the Kuru women; the city departs in collective lamentation

Devanagari script

वैशम्पायन उवाच तच्छुत्वा वचन घोरं संजयस्य महीपति: । गतासुरिव निश्रेष्टो न्यपतत्‌ पृथिवीतले,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--राजन! संजयका यह घोर वचन सुनकर राजा धुृतराष्ट्र प्राणशून्यकी भाँति निश्वेष्ट हो पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़े

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | tac chrutvā vacanaṃ ghoraṃ sañjayasya mahīpatiḥ | gatāsur iva niśceṣṭo nyapatat pṛthivītale ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: Hearing Sañjaya’s dreadful report, the king Dhṛtarāṣṭra collapsed to the ground, motionless as if bereft of life.

Word by Word

वैशम्पायनःVaiśampāyana

उवाचsaid

तत्that

श्रुत्वाhaving heard

वचनम्speech, words

घोरम्terrible

संजयस्यof Sañjaya

महीपतिःthe king (lord of the earth)

गतासुःas if lifeless (one whose life has gone)

इवlike, as if

निश्रेष्टःmotionless, inert

न्यपतत्fell down

पृथिवीतलेon the surface of the earth, on the ground

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Pṛthivī (earth/ground)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the crushing moral and emotional aftermath of war: when reality arrives in full force, attachment and long-standing denial can render a person helpless. It implicitly warns that ignoring dharmic counsel and clinging to partiality leads not only to external ruin but also to inner collapse.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya delivers a terrifying account (of the calamity and losses). On hearing it, King Dhṛtarāṣṭra—overwhelmed by shock and grief—falls to the ground, motionless, as though lifeless.