Shloka 9
धृतराष्ट्रविलापः — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament and Inquiry (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 2)
एह्ीहि पुत्र राजेन्द्र ममानाथस्य साम्प्रतम् । त्वया हीनो महाबाहो कां नु यास्याम्यहं गतिम्,(इतना कहकर राजा धृतराष्ट्र इस प्रकार विलाप करने लगे--) बेटा! राजाधिराज! इस समय मुझ अनाथके पास आओ, आओ । महाबाहो! तुम्हारे बिना न जाने मैं किस दशाको पहुँच जाऊँगा?
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | ehy ehi putra rājendra mamānāthasya sāmpratam | tvayā hīno mahābāho kāṃ nu yāsyāmy ahaṃ gatim ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Come, come, my son—O lord of kings—come to me now, for I am without refuge. O mighty-armed one, bereft of you, to what state, indeed, shall I be reduced?”
धघतयाट्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical vulnerability of excessive attachment and dependence: a ruler who lacks inner steadiness becomes helpless when external supports (especially family and power) are threatened or lost. It implicitly contrasts worldly refuge with the need for steadier grounding in dharma and self-control.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra breaks into a lament, urgently calling his son to come to him. He describes himself as ‘without refuge’ and fears what fate or condition he will fall into if separated from his son, expressing anxiety and helplessness amid the unfolding calamities of the war.