Mahabharata 9.2.513 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 2, Shloka 513
धृतराष्ट्रविलापः — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament and Inquiry (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 2)
एकेन समरे येन हतं पुत्रशतं मम | जब दुर्योधन मारा गया
ekena samare yena hataṁ putraśataṁ mama | taṁ bhīmasenaṁ kathaṁ śroṣye uccaiḥ proktaṁ vacas tadā ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra berkata: “Bagaimana aku sanggup mendengar kata-kata yang diteriakkan lantang oleh Bhīmasena—dia yang seorang diri di medan laga telah membunuh seratus putraku? Ketika Duryodhana telah tewas, ketika Śalya binasa dalam pertempuran, dan ketika Duḥśāsana, Vivimśati, serta Vikarna yang perkasa pun telah dijatuhkan—bagaimana aku menahan pekik kemenangan orang yang mengosongkan garis keturunanku?”
धघतयाट्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral weight of war’s outcomes: attachment and partiality culminate in unbearable grief. Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s anguish underscores how adharma-driven choices and refusal to restrain wrongdoing return as devastating consequences, even when the battlefield victory is ‘justified’ by kṣatriya norms.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra, hearing reports of the war, laments that Bhīma—who killed his hundred sons—has also outlived and defeated key Kaurava champions. He dreads hearing Bhīma’s loud, victorious words after the deaths of Duryodhana, Śalya, Duḥśāsana, Vivimśati, and Vikarna.
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