Shloka 5
कर्णस्य सेनापत्यं, माकरव्यूहः, पाण्डवानामर्धचन्द्रव्यूहः
Karna’s Command; Mākara Formation; Pandava Crescent Counter-Array
एतेषु हि मृतेष्वद्य ये त्वया परिकीर्तिता: । ये5पि जीवन्ति ते सर्वे मृता इति मतिर्मम
eteṣu hi mṛteṣv adya ye tvayā parikīrtitāḥ | ye 'pi jīvanti te sarve mṛtā iti matir mama ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra dit : «À présent que ceux dont tu viens de citer les noms sont morts, je suis convaincu que même tous ceux qui vivent encore sont, en vérité, déjà morts. Quand les plus éminents sont tombés, la vie des autres n’est qu’un sursis avant la ruine.»
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse captures how attachment and fear can turn perception into fatalism: when leaders and loved ones fall, the mind may declare the rest ‘already dead,’ collapsing hope and ethical clarity. It highlights the psychological devastation of war and the danger of despair-driven judgment.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra responds to Sañjaya’s report of deaths on the battlefield. Hearing the names of those slain, he concludes that the surviving Kauravas are effectively doomed, expressing grief and foreboding about the inevitable outcome of the war.