Shloka 9
Karṇa-nidhana-śravaṇa, Kṣaya-Varṇana, and Śeṣa-sainika-nirdeśa
Hearing of Karṇa’s Fall, Accounting of Losses, and Naming of Remaining Warriors
स लब्ध्वा शनकै: संज्ञां ताश्च दृष्टवा स्त्रियो नृप: । उन्मत्त इव राजेन्द्र स्थितस्तूष्णीं विशाम्पते
sa labdhvā śanakaiḥ saṃjñāṃ tāś ca dṛṣṭvā striyo nṛpaḥ | unmatta iva rājendra sthitas tūṣṇīṃ viśāmpate ||
धीरे-धीरे होश में आकर और अपने घर की स्त्रियों को वहाँ उपस्थित देखकर वह राजा चुपचाप रह गया—मानो उन्मत्त हो—हे राजेन्द्र, हे प्रजानाथ।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how the devastation of war overwhelms even a king: grief can suspend speech and judgment, reminding readers that adharma-driven conflict yields suffering that no status can withstand.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra slowly comes back to consciousness; seeing the women of his household present before him, he is struck by shock and sorrow and sits/stands silently, appearing like one who has lost his senses.