Shloka 46
धृतराष्ट्रविलापः — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament and Inquiry (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 2)
वयस्या भ्रातरश्वैव किमन्यद् भागधेयत: । हाय! मेरे महाबली पुत्र, पौत्र, मित्र और भाई-बन्धु सभी मार डाले गये, इसे दुर्भाग्यके सिवा और क्या कहूँ? ।। भागधेयसमायुक्तो ध्रुवमुत्पद्यते नर:
vayasyā bhrātaraś caiva kim anyad bhāgadheyataḥ | hāy! me mahābalī putrāḥ pautrā mitrāṇi bāndhavāś ca sarve māritāḥ, etad durbhāgyāt paraṃ kim vadāmi || bhāgadheya-samāyukto dhruvam utpadyate naraḥ ||
Dijo Dhṛtarāṣṭra: «Amigos y hermanos… ¿qué otra cosa puede llamarse esto sino destino? ¡Ay de mí! Todos mis poderosos hijos, mis nietos, mis amigos y mis parientes han sido muertos. ¿Cómo he de nombrarlo, si no como pura desventura? El hombre, atado a la porción de destino que le ha sido asignada, llega sin duda a un fin como este.»
धघतयाट्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the tension between human responsibility and the sense of being driven by destiny: in overwhelming grief, Dhṛtarāṣṭra interprets the annihilation of his family as bhāgadheya (allotted fate), highlighting how fatalism can arise when one confronts the consequences of war.
After the catastrophic losses in the Kurukṣetra war, Dhṛtarāṣṭra mourns the death of his sons, grandsons, friends, and relatives, and voices a despairing conclusion that such an outcome is nothing but misfortune and destiny fulfilled.