Shloka 9
अर्जुन-माहात्म्य-चिन्ता
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Appraisal of Arjuna’s Strategic Supremacy
मन्युस्तस्य कथं शाम्येन्मन्दान् प्रति य उत्थित: । निश्चय ही द्रोणाचार्य और कर्णका वध हो जानेपर हमारे पक्षके लोग शान्त हो जायूँगे अथवा अर्जुनके मारे जानेपर पाण्डव शान्त हो बैठेंगे, परंतु अर्जुनका वध करने-वाला तो कोई है ही नहीं, उन्हें जीतनेवाला भी संसारमें कोई नहीं है। मेरे मन्दबुद्धि पुत्रोंके प्रति उनके हृदयमें जो क्रोध जाग उठा है, वह कैसे शान्त होगा? ।। ८ है ।। अन्ये>प्यस्त्राणि जानन्ति जीयन्ते च जयन्ति च
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | manyus tasya kathaṁ śāmyen mandān prati ya utthitaḥ | niścayaṁ hi droṇācārya-karṇayoḥ vadhe kṛte ’smat-pakṣyāḥ śāntā bhaveyuḥ, athavā ’rjune nihate pāṇḍavāḥ śāmyeyuḥ | kintu ’rjunasya vadhakartā kaścid eva nāsti, jetuṁ ca taṁ loke kaścid na śaknoti | mama manda-buddhi-putrān prati tasya hṛdaye yo manyur utthitaḥ sa kathaṁ praśāmyet ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra dijo: «¿Cómo podría apaciguarse su ira, despertada contra mis hijos insensatos? Es seguro que, si Droṇa y Karṇa son abatidos, los nuestros quedarán sometidos; o, si Arjuna es muerto, los Pāṇḍavas se sentarán en silencio. Pero no hay quien pueda matar de veras a Arjuna, ni hay en el mundo quien pueda superarlo. ¿Cómo, entonces, se aquietará la cólera que se ha alzado en su corazón contra mis hijos extraviados?»
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how unchecked attachment and partiality distort judgment: Dhṛtarāṣṭra recognizes the moral and strategic peril created by his sons’ folly, yet frames the crisis in terms of fear and inevitability. It also underscores a dharmic warning—wrongdoing provokes enduring enmity (manyu), and power without righteousness cannot secure peace.
In Udyoga Parva’s pre-war negotiations and anxieties, Dhṛtarāṣṭra reflects on the coming conflict. He reasons that either the Kauravas will collapse if their great champions fall, or the Pāṇḍavas will be subdued only if Arjuna is killed—yet he believes Arjuna cannot be slain or conquered. Therefore he worries that the Pāṇḍavas’ anger against his sons will not be appeased.