Shloka 9

Devanagari script

जहाँ मेरे कान निरन्तर स्वजनोंके आनन्द-कोलाहलसे गूँजते रहते थे, वहीं आज मैं अपने दीन-दु:खी पुत्रोंके द्वारा उच्चारित वह हर्षसूचक शब्द नहीं सुन रहा हूँ ।। निवेशने सत्यधृते: सोमदत्तस्य संजय । आसीनोऊहं पुरा तात शब्दमश्रौषमुत्तमम्‌,तात संजय! पहले मैं यथार्थ धैर्यशाली सोमदत्तके भवनमें बैठा हुआ उत्तम शब्द सुना करता था

Transliteration

dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | yatra me karṇā nirantaraṃ svajanānandakolāhalena gūñjate sma, tatra adya dīna-duḥkhitaputraiḥ uccāritaṃ tad harṣasūcakaṃ śabdaṃ na śṛṇomi || niveśane satyadhṛteḥ somadattasya sañjaya | āsīno'haṃ purā tāta śabdam aśrauṣam uttamam ||

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: In the place where my ears used to ring without cease with the joyful clamour of my own people, today I do not hear that cry of exultation uttered by my sons, now wretched and afflicted. O Sañjaya, formerly, seated in the residence of Somadatta—firm in truth and steadfast in resolve—I would hear that excellent, auspicious sound; but now it is absent, and the silence itself proclaims their downfall.

Word by Word

• {'dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca': 'Dhṛtarāṣṭra said', 'yatra': 'where', 'me': 'my', 'karṇāḥ': 'ears', 'nirantaram': 'continually, without interruption', 'svajana': 'one’s own people, kinsmen', 'ānanda': 'joy', 'kolāhala': 'uproar, clamour', 'gūñjate (sma)': 'used to resound (formerly)', 'adya': 'today, now', 'dīna': 'wretched, pitiable', 'duḥkhita': 'afflicted, sorrowful', 'putraiḥ': 'by (my) sons', 'uccāritam': 'uttered, spoken aloud', 'harṣa-sūcaka': 'indicating joy, exultant', 'śabdam': 'sound, word, cry', 'na śṛṇomi': 'I do not hear', 'niveśane': 'in the residence, dwelling', 'satyadhṛteḥ': 'of one steadfast in truth / truth-holding', 'somadattasya': 'of Somadatta', 'sañjaya': 'O Sañjaya', 'āsīnaḥ': 'seated', 'aham': 'I', 'purā': 'formerly', 'tāta': 'dear one

• a term of address (often ‘son/dear’)', 'aśrauṣam': 'I heard', 'uttamam': 'excellent, best, auspicious'}

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Sañjaya
• Somadatta
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons (Kauravas, implied)
• Somadatta’s residence (niveśana)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how attachment to one’s own side and the intoxication of earlier triumphs collapse into grief when actions bear fruit. The absence of the ‘joy-cry’ becomes an ethical sign: when a cause is rooted in adharma, its apparent strength can quickly turn into silence, loss, and remorse.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra tells Sañjaya that he no longer hears the exultant sounds once voiced by his sons. Recalling earlier days—when he sat in Somadatta’s residence and heard ‘excellent’ auspicious sounds—he contrasts past confidence with the present misery of the Kauravas amid the war’s reversals.