Shloka 313
धृतराष्ट्रविलापः — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament and Inquiry (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 2)
निहतः पाण्डवै: संख्ये किमन्यद् भागधेयत: । जैसे सिंह सियारसे लड़कर मारा जाय, उसी प्रकार जहाँ लोकरक्षक प्रतापी वीर भीष्म शिखण्डीसे भिड़कर वधको प्राप्त हुए, जहाँ सम्पूर्ण शस्त्रास्त्रोंकी विद्याके पारंगत विद्वान् ब्राह्मण द्रोणाचार्य पाण्डवोंद्वारा युद्धस्थलमें मार डाले गये, वहाँ भाग्यके सिवा दूसरा क्या कारण हो सकता है?
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | nihataḥ pāṇḍavaiḥ saṅkhye kim anyad bhāgadhayataḥ | yathā siṃhaḥ śṛgālena yuddhvā nihanyate tathā yatra lokarakṣakaḥ pratāpī vīro bhīṣmaḥ śikhaṇḍinā saṃyujya vadham avāpa | yatra ca sarvaśastrāstravidyāpāraṅgato vidvān brāhmaṇo droṇācāryaḥ pāṇḍavair raṇe nihataḥ | tatra bhāgyāt paraṃ kāraṇaṃ kim anyat syāt ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “When my warriors have been slain by the Pāṇḍavas in battle, what cause can there be other than destiny? Just as a lion might be killed after fighting a jackal, so too, in that war, the world-protecting, mighty hero Bhīṣma met his death after engaging with Śikhaṇḍin. And there, Drona— a learned Brāhmaṇa, fully accomplished in every science of weapons and missiles—was also killed by the Pāṇḍavas on the battlefield. In such a case, what other explanation can there be beyond fate?”
धघतयाट्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dhṛtarāṣṭra frames catastrophic reversals in war—great heroes falling through seemingly unequal matchups—as evidence of bhāgya (destiny). Ethically, the verse highlights a common human response to tragedy: attributing outcomes to fate when ordinary expectations of merit, strength, and expertise appear overturned.
After hearing of the Kaurava losses, Dhṛtarāṣṭra laments that the Pāṇḍavas have slain formidable figures. He cites Bhīṣma’s death in connection with Śikhaṇḍin and Droṇa’s death despite his mastery of weapon-lore, concluding that only destiny can explain such outcomes.