Shloka 8
Rajo-dhūli-saṃmūḍha-saṅgrāmaḥ
The Dust-Obscured Battle and Mutual Charges
प्रक्षिप्त: सम्मतः क्षुद्र: पुत्रो मे पुरुषाधम: । न युद्ध रोचयेद् भीष्मो न चाचार्य: कथंचन
prakṣiptaḥ sammataḥ kṣudraḥ putro me puruṣādhamaḥ | na yuddha rocayed bhīṣmo na cācāryaḥ kathaṃcana ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “My son—deemed contemptible and base, the lowest among men—has been cast aside. Neither Bhīṣma nor the Teacher (Droṇa) would ever approve of war.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when power and ambition push toward conflict, elders and teachers are expected to restrain unjust war; moral authority (ācārya, pitāmaha) should not legitimize adharma.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra laments and condemns his own son’s conduct, implying that the Kuru elders—Bhīṣma and Droṇa—would not truly endorse the outbreak of war, highlighting the tension between counsel and the prince’s obstinacy.