Shloka 8
धृतराष्ट्रस्य संजयप्रश्नः
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Inquiry to Saṃjaya on Strategic Comparisons
ये चाप्यन्ये पार्थिवास्तत्र योद्धू समागता: कौरवाणां प्रियार्थम् । मुमूर्षव: पाण्डवाग्नौ प्रदीप्ते समानीता धार्तराष्ट्रेण होतुम्
ye cāpyanye pārthivās tatra yoddhuṃ samāgatāḥ kauravāṇāṃ priyārtham | mumūrṣavaḥ pāṇḍavāgnau pradīpte samānītā dhārtarāṣṭreṇa hotum ||
Dan raja-raja lain yang berkumpul di sana untuk berperang demi menyenangkan para Kaurawa—mereka yang ajalnya telah dekat—telah didatangkan oleh putra Dhṛtarāṣṭra seakan-akan untuk dipersembahkan sebagai kurban ke dalam api menyala yang bernama Pāṇḍawa.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that unethical political loyalty and the desire to please a faction can become a path to ruin. By casting the Pāṇḍavas as a ‘blazing fire’ and the allied kings as ‘oblations,’ it highlights how adharma-driven leadership (Duryodhana’s) turns war into a destructive sacrifice where many are consumed.
Sañjaya describes to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that many other kings have gathered to fight on the Kaurava side. He portrays them as already doomed, summoned by Duryodhana to be ‘offered’ into the powerful, blazing force of the Pāṇḍavas in the impending Kurukṣetra war.