Shloka 53
द्रोणपर्व (अध्याय १) — भीष्मनिधनानन्तरं धृतराष्ट्रस्य शोकः, सेनायाः स्थितिः, कर्णस्मरणं च
Droṇa Parva, Chapter 1: Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s grief after Bhīṣma’s fall and the army’s reorientation toward Karṇa
आर्तानां बान्धवानां च क्रन्दतां च विशेषत: । परित्यज्य रणे प्राणांस्तत्त्राणार्थ च शर्म च । कृतवान् मम पुत्राणां जयाशां सफलामपि,क्या उसने रणभूमिमें शोकार्त होकर विशेषरूपसे क्रन्दन करनेवाले अपने उन बन्धुजनोंकी रक्षा एवं कल्याणके लिये अपने प्राणोंका परित्याग करके मेरे पुत्रोंकी विजयाभिलाषाको सफल किया?
ārtānāṁ bāndhavānāṁ ca krandatāṁ ca viśeṣataḥ | parityajya raṇe prāṇāṁs tat-trāṇārthaṁ ca śarma ca | kṛtavān mama putrāṇāṁ jayāśāṁ saphalām api |
Vaiśampāyana said: “Did he, on the battlefield, abandon his very life—especially for the protection and welfare of those distressed kinsmen who were crying out in grief—and thereby make even the hope of victory of my sons come true?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical tension of war: true ‘success’ is measured not merely by victory but by the willingness to sacrifice oneself for the protection and welfare (śarma) of suffering relatives. It frames battlefield action in terms of responsibility toward the vulnerable.
Vaiśampāyana reports a reflective question about a warrior’s act: whether he gave up his life in battle to rescue and secure the well-being of grieving, distressed kinsmen—an act that, as a consequence, fulfilled the Kauravas’ hope of victory.