Shloka 10
अमोघशक्तिव्यंसनप्रश्नः — Why Karṇa’s Śakti Was Not Used on Arjuna
तेषां संलोड्यमानानां पाण्डवै्हतचेतसाम् । अन्धे तमसि मग्नानामभवत् का मतिस्तदा,जब पाण्डवोंने उन सबको मथकर अचेत कर दिया और वे घोर अन्धकारमें डूब गये, तब मेरे उन सैनिकोंने क्या विचार किया?
teṣāṁ saṁloḍyamānānāṁ pāṇḍavair hata-cetasām | andhe tamasi magnānām abhavat kā matis tadā ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra dit : «Lorsque les miens étaient violemment jetés dans la confusion par les Pāṇḍava, les sens brisés, et qu’ils s’enfonçaient dans une nuit aveuglante, quelle pensée, quelle résolution s’éleva en eux à cet instant ?»
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, fear and disorientation can eclipse judgment; it implicitly raises an ethical question about leadership—when troops are driven into panic and ‘darkness,’ what counsel or steadiness remains, and who bears responsibility for that collapse.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra asks what his soldiers thought or decided when the Pāṇḍavas overwhelmed them—shaking their formations, stunning their minds, and plunging them into a state described as ‘blind darkness,’ i.e., extreme confusion and despair.