Shloka 36
दिशो नूनं गमिष्यन्ति भीमसेनभयार्दिता: । मम पुत्राश्न भृत्याश्न राजानश्वैव संजय,संजय! निश्चय ही भीमसेनके भयसे पीड़ित हो मेरे पुत्र, सेवक तथा सहायक नरेश विभिन्न दिशाओंमें भाग जायँगे
diśo nūnaṁ gamiṣyanti bhīmasenabhayārditāḥ | mama putrāś ca bhṛtyāś ca rājānaś caiva sañjaya sañjaya || niścayaṁ hi bhīmasenasya bhayena pīḍitā mama putrāḥ sevakāḥ tathā sahāyakā nṛpā vividhāsu diśāsu bhāgāḥ yāsyanti ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Surely, Sañjaya, driven by fear of Bhīmasena, my sons—together with their attendants and allied kings—will scatter and flee to the various directions. Indeed, oppressed by dread of Bhīma, they will not stand their ground.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
Fear and moral weakness corrode leadership: Dhṛtarāṣṭra anticipates collapse not from strategy but from inner panic. The verse highlights how adharma-driven choices breed insecurity, and how a leader’s anxiety about consequences can foreshadow the unraveling of alliances.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra speaks to Sañjaya, imagining that the Kauravas, their attendants, and allied kings will flee in all directions, overwhelmed by fear of Bhīmasena. It reflects the tense pre-war atmosphere of the Udyoga Parva, where the prospect of conflict exposes the Kaurava camp’s apprehensions.