Shloka 12
भीष्मस्य भीमसेन-निरोधः
Bhīṣma checks Bhīmasena; matched engagements intensify
पृच्छतो वै यथातत्त्वं सर्वमाख्यातुमरहसि । अतः सूत! मैं तुमसे शक्तिः और कारणकेः विषयमें जो विशेष प्रश्न कर रहा हूँ, वह सब यथार्थरूपसे बताओ ।। दुर्योधनश्व यच्चक्रे दृष्टवा स्वान् विमुखान् रणे,युद्धमें अपने सैनिकोंको विमुख हुआ देख दुर्योधनने क्या किया? भीष्म, द्रोण, कृपाचार्य, शकुनि, जयद्रथ, महाधनुर्धर अश्वत्थामा और महाबली विकर्णने भी क्या किया? महाप्राज्ञ संजय! मेरे पुत्रोंके विमुख होनेपर उन महामना महारथियोंने उस समय क्या निश्चय किया?
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | pṛcchato vai yathātattvaṁ sarvam ākhyātum arhasi | ato sūta! mayi tvaṁ śaktiṁ ca kāraṇaṁ ca viṣaye yo viśeṣa-praśnaṁ karomi, tat sarvaṁ yathārtha-rūpeṇa vada || duryodhanaś ca yac cakre dṛṣṭvā svān vimukhān raṇe—yuddhe svān sainikān vimukhān dṛṣṭvā duryodhanena kiṁ kṛtam? bhīṣma-droṇa-kṛpācārya-śakuni-jayadratha-mahādhanuṣī aśvatthāmā mahābalī vikarṇaś ca kiṁ cakruḥ? mahāprājña sañjaya! mama putrāṇāṁ vimukhatve sati te mahāmanā mahārathinaḥ tadā kiṁ niścayaṁ cakruḥ? ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “You must relate everything to me exactly as it truly happened. Therefore, O Sūta, tell me in full and truthfully what I ask—especially concerning the power at play and the causes behind it. When Duryodhana saw his own men turning away in battle, what did he do? And what did Bhīṣma, Droṇa, Kṛpa, Śakuni, Jayadratha, the great archer Aśvatthāmā, and the mighty Vikarṇa do? O wise Sañjaya, when my sons lost heart, what resolve did those noble great chariot-warriors then form?”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds truthful narration and the search for causality in human action: Dhṛtarāṣṭra demands an exact account of events and their underlying ‘power’ and ‘cause,’ highlighting how leadership is tested when morale collapses and how decisions arise from fear, attachment, and strategic necessity.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra, anxious about the Kauravas, asks Sañjaya to report precisely what Duryodhana did upon seeing his forces falter in battle, and what key Kaurava commanders (Bhīṣma, Droṇa, Kṛpa, Śakuni, Jayadratha, Aśvatthāmā, Vikarṇa) decided at that critical moment.