Shloka 37
धृतराष्ट्रविलापः — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament and Inquiry (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 2)
बृहद्धलो हतो यत्र मागधश्न महाबल: । उग्रायुधश्न विक्रान्त: प्रतिमानं धनुष्मताम्,जहाँ बृहद्वल, महाबली मगधनरेश, धनुर्धरोंके आदर्श एवं पराक्रमी उग्रायुध, अवन्तीके राजकुमार, त्रिगर्तनरेश सुशर्मा तथा सम्पूर्ण संशप्तक योद्धा मार डाले गये, वहाँ भाग्यके सिवा दूसरा क्या कारण हो सकता है?
bṛhaddhalo hato yatra māgadhaś ca mahābalaḥ | ugrāyudhaś ca vikrāntaḥ pratimānaṃ dhanuṣmatām ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Where Bṛhaddhala was slain, and the mighty king of Magadha too; where Ugrāyudha—valiant and a model among archers—was also struck down, along with Suśarmā of the Trigartas and the entire band of the Saṃśaptaka warriors—what cause can there be other than fate?”
धघतयाट्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a common Mahābhārata reflection: when even renowned heroes fall, the mind seeks an overarching explanation—here framed as ‘fate’ (daiva). Ethically, it also shows how grief can shift responsibility away from human choices and strategy, raising the tension between destiny and accountability.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra, hearing of major battlefield losses—Bṛhaddhala, a powerful Magadhan ruler, Ugrāyudha famed among archers, Suśarmā, and the Saṃśaptakas—reacts with astonishment and sorrow, concluding that such widespread defeat seems explainable only by fate.