Shloka 11
धृतराष्ट्रविलापः — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament and Inquiry (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 2)
गतिर्भूत्वा महाराज ज्ञातीनां सुहृदां तथा । अन्धं वृद्ध च मां वीर विहाय क्व नु यास्यसि,वीर महाराज! तुम भाई-बन्धुओं और सुहृदोंके आश्रय होकर भी मुझ अंधे और बूढ़ेको छोड़कर कहाँ चले जा रहे हो?
Dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca:
Gatir bhūtvā mahārāja jñātīnāṃ suhṛdāṃ tathā |
Andhaṃ vṛddhaṃ ca māṃ vīra vihāya kva nu yāsyasi ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “O great king, O hero—after having become the refuge and support of your kinsmen and well-wishers, where are you going now, leaving me behind—blind and aged?”
धघतयाट्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical claim of responsibility: one who has been a ‘gati’ (refuge) for relatives and friends is expected to uphold duties of care, especially toward the vulnerable (here, an aged and blind elder). It frames departure as a moral rupture—abandoning dependents when support is most needed.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra, the blind and elderly king, addresses a ‘mahārāja/vīra’ and questions his leaving. He appeals to the addressee’s role as protector of kin and well-wishers, asking where he is going while abandoning Dhṛtarāṣṭra in his frailty.