Shloka 21
Rajo-dhūli-saṃmūḍha-saṅgrāmaḥ
The Dust-Obscured Battle and Mutual Charges
तेषां क्रोधं चिन्तयंस्तु अह:सु च निशासु च । न शान्तिमधिगच्छामि दुर्योधनकृतेन हि । कथं चाभून्महायुद्ध॑ सर्वमाचक्ष्व संजय,दुर्योधनके कारण पाण्डवोंके मनमें जो क्रोध है, उसका चिन्तन करके मुझे न तो दिनमें शान्ति मिलती है, न रात्रिमें ही। संजय! वह महायुद्ध किस प्रकार हुआ, यह सब मुझे बताओ
teṣāṁ krodhaṁ cintayaṁs tu ahaḥsu ca niśāsu ca | na śāntim adhigacchāmi duryodhana-kṛtena hi | kathaṁ cābhūn mahāyuddhaṁ sarvam ācakṣva sañjaya ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “As I brood over the Pāṇḍavas’ anger—by day and by night—I find no peace, for it has been brought about by Duryodhana’s doing. Tell me, Sañjaya, how that great war came to pass; recount everything.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
Unchecked wrongdoing by those in power breeds collective anger and destroys peace; Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s unrest highlights moral responsibility and the inevitable consequences of enabling adharma.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra confesses that he cannot find peace day or night as he reflects on the Pāṇḍavas’ anger caused by Duryodhana, and he asks Sañjaya to narrate how the great war arose.