Shloka 14
भीष्मस्य भीमसेन-निरोधः
Bhīṣma checks Bhīmasena; matched engagements intensify
निश्चयो वापि कस्तेषां तदा ह्वासीन्महात्मनाम् | विमुखेषु महाप्राज्ञ मम पुत्रेषु संजय,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 | niścayo vāpi kas teṣāṃ tadā hy āsīn mahātmanām | vimukheṣu mahāprājña mama putreṣu saṃjaya ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: O wise Saṃjaya, when my sons turned away and lost heart in the battle, what resolve did those great-souled leaders then form? What did Duryodhana do on seeing his army falter, and what course did Bhīṣma, Droṇa, Kṛpa, Śakuni, Jayadratha, the great archer Aśvatthāmā, and the mighty Vikarṇa adopt? In asking this, the blind king reveals both anxiety and attachment: he seeks not merely news, but reassurance that power and strategy will compensate for a wavering commitment to righteous conduct.
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how inner resolve (niścaya) is decisive in crisis: when courage falters, leaders must choose a course. It also subtly exposes Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s attachment—his concern is centered on his sons’ success rather than on dharma—suggesting that strategic questions often conceal deeper ethical misalignment.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra asks Saṃjaya to report what Duryodhana and the principal Kaurava commanders decided and did when his sons and their troops became disheartened on the battlefield. The question sets up Saṃjaya’s account of the Kaurava leadership’s response to a moment of wavering morale.