Shloka 7
Āśvamedhika-parva Adhyāya 1 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Lament by the Gaṅgā and Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Counsel
राजा तु धृतराष्ट्रश्न पुत्रशोकाभिपीडित: । वाक्यमाह महाबुद्धि: प्रज्ञाचक्षुन्नरिश्वरम्,उस समय पुत्रशोकसे पीड़ित हुए परम बुद्धिमान प्रज्ञाचक्षु राजा धृतराष्ट्रने महाराज युधिष्ठिस्से कहा--
rājā tu dhṛtarāṣṭraḥ putraśokābhipīḍitaḥ | vākyam āha mahābuddhiḥ prajñācakṣur nariśvaram ||
Then King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, crushed by grief for his sons, addressed the lord of men with words. Though blinded in body, he was one whose vision was wisdom—speaking from the moral weight of loss in the aftermath of war.
वैशमग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames ethical reflection after catastrophe: even a ruler devastated by personal loss must speak and be heard within the moral order (dharma). Dhṛtarāṣṭra is portrayed as 'prajñācakṣu'—suggesting that true vision is discernment, and that grief can become a ground for sober counsel rather than mere lament.
Vaiśaṃpāyana narrates that Dhṛtarāṣṭra, overwhelmed by sorrow for his slain sons after the great war, begins to address the reigning king (Yudhiṣṭhira). This sets up a dialogue in which the defeated elder speaks to the victor amid the moral and emotional aftermath.