Shloka 4
Rajo-dhūli-saṃmūḍha-saṅgrāmaḥ
The Dust-Obscured Battle and Mutual Charges
स हि वीरो<नुरक्तश्न वृद्ध: कुरुपतिस्तदा । संजय! सेनापति श्वेत युद्धमें मारे गये। उनकी रक्षाके लिये प्रयत्न करनेपर भी शत्रुओंको पलायन करना पड़ा तथा अपने पक्षकी विजय हुई--से सब बातें सुनकर मेरे मनमें बड़ी प्रसन्नता हो रही है। शत्रुओंके प्रतीकारका उपाय सोचते हुए मुझे अपने पक्षके द्वारा की गयी अनीतिका स्मरण करके भी लज्जा नहीं आती है। वे वृद्ध एवं वीर कुरुराज भीष्म हमपर सदा अनुराग रखते हैं (इस कारण ही उन्होंने श्वेतके साथ ऐसा व्यवहार किया होगा) | २-३ ह || कृतं वैरं सदा तेन पितु: पुत्रेण धीमता
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | sa hi vīro 'nuraktaś ca vṛddhaḥ kurupatiḥ tadā | sañjaya! senāpatiḥ śveto yuddhe me māritaḥ | kṛtaṃ vairaṃ sadā tena pituḥ putreṇa dhīmatā ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “That aged hero, the lord of the Kurus, was then indeed devoted to us. O Sañjaya, my commander Śveta has been slain in battle. And thus an enmity has been firmly established by that wise son against the father.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how attachment and partisan satisfaction can distort ethical judgment: Dhṛtarāṣṭra frames battlefield events in terms of loyalty and vengeance, emphasizing enduring enmity rather than reflecting on dharma or the human cost of war.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra addresses Sañjaya, noting that the aged Kuru leader (Bhīṣma) is devoted to their side, and reports that his commander Śveta has been killed in battle; he then remarks that this act has cemented a lasting hostility between a son and his father.