अध्याय ९ — धृतराष्ट्रस्य युधिष्ठिरं प्रति राजनित्युपदेशः
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Counsel on Royal Policy to Yudhiṣṭhira
न च क्षयो<यं नृपते ऋते दैवबलादभूत् | अवश्यमेव संग्रामे क्षत्रियेण विशेषत:
na ca kṣayo ’yaṃ nṛpate ṛte daivabalād abhūt | avaśyam eva saṅgrāme kṣatriyeṇa viśeṣataḥ ||
Dijo Vaiśaṃpāyana: «Oh rey, esta destrucción no ocurrió sin la fuerza del daiva, del destino. En la batalla, la ruina es en verdad inevitable, especialmente para un kṣatriya.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
The verse frames wartime destruction as arising under the force of destiny (daiva-bala) and as something regarded as inevitable in the kṣatriya sphere; it highlights the tension between human agency and the larger moral-cosmic order that governs outcomes.
Vaiśampāyana addresses the king and interprets the great ruin as not merely human-caused but propelled by destiny, emphasizing that in the context of battle—particularly for kṣatriyas—such loss is treated as an unavoidable consequence of warfare.