Shloka 28

धर्मराजस्य चिन्ता, भीमसेनप्रेषणम्, द्रोणानीकप्रवेशप्रयत्नः

Yudhiṣṭhira’s Anxiety and the Dispatch of Bhīma; Attempted Breakthrough into Droṇa’s Formation

Devanagari script

सिन्धुराजस्य यत्‌ कृत्यं गतस्य यमसादनम्‌ | तत्‌ करोतु वृथादृष्टिर्धार्तराष्ट्रीडनुपायवित्‌,भारत! इसी प्रकार वहाँ दूसरे क्षत्रिय निम्नांकित बातें कहते थे--'योग्य उपायको न जाननेवाले और मिथ्या दृष्टि रखनेवाले राजा धृतराष्ट्र यमलोकमें गये हुए सिन्धुराज जयद्रथका जो और्ध्वदैहिक कृत्य है, उसका सम्पादन करें”

Transliteration

Sindhurājasya yat kṛtyaṃ gatasya yamasādanam | tat karotu vṛthādṛṣṭir dhārtarāṣṭrīḍ anupāyavit, Bhārata! |

Translation

Sañjaya said: “Let Dhṛtarāṣṭra—misguided in vision and ignorant of proper means—perform the funerary rites due to the king of Sindhu, Jayadratha, who has gone to Yama’s abode, O Bhārata.” Thus, in that place, other kṣatriyas were heard speaking in this vein—words that sharpen the moral censure of a ruler’s delusion and helplessness amid the ruin brought by war.

Word by Word

• {'sindhurāja': 'the king of Sindhu (Jayadratha)', 'kṛtya': 'a duty to be performed

• here, the required rite/obligation', 'gatasya': 'of one who has gone (i.e., departed, deceased)', 'yamasādana': 'Yama’s abode

• the realm of death', 'tat': 'that (rite/duty)', 'karotu': 'let him do/perform (imperative/optative sense)', 'vṛthādṛṣṭi': 'one whose view is vain/false

• misguided, deluded', 'dhārtarāṣṭra': 'Dhṛtarāṣṭra (descendant of Dhṛtarāṣṭra)

• here the king Dhṛtarāṣṭra himself', 'anupāyavit': 'one who does not know the means

• lacking skill in proper measures', 'Bhārata': 'O Bhārata (address to Dhṛtarāṣṭra/descendant of Bharata

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Sindhurāja (Jayadratha)
• Yama
• Yamasādana (abode of Yama)
• Bhārata

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores ethical accountability in kingship: a ruler who is deluded and lacks wise means becomes an object of censure, and in the aftermath of war even basic dharmic obligations—such as performing rites for the dead—stand as stark reminders of the consequences of misguided leadership.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that, after Jayadratha (the king of Sindhu) has been slain and is said to have gone to Yama’s realm, other kṣatriyas remark that Dhṛtarāṣṭra should now carry out Jayadratha’s post-death rites, while criticizing Dhṛtarāṣṭra as misguided and inept in proper strategy.