Shloka 10
स्त्रीपर्व १: धृतराष्ट्रशोकः संजयाश्वासनं च
Strī Parva 1: Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament and Saṃjaya’s Consolation
धृतराष्ट उवाच हतपुत्रो हतामात्यो हतसर्वसुह्ृज्जन: । दुःखं नूनं भविष्यामि विचरन् पृथिवीमिमाम्
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca hataputro hatāmātyo hatasarvasuhṛjjanaḥ | duḥkhaṃ nūnaṃ bhaviṣyāmi vicaran pṛthivīm imām ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Bereft of my sons, bereft of my ministers, and with all my well-wishers slain, I shall surely become a man of sorrow, wandering upon this very earth.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the moral and psychological consequence of adharma-driven conflict: when one’s lineage, counsel, and supportive community are destroyed, power becomes meaningless and life turns into aimless suffering. It highlights how war’s ‘victory’ can culminate in isolation and enduring grief.
In the opening of the Strī Parva, Dhṛtarāṣṭra reacts to the catastrophic outcome of the Kurukṣetra war. He laments that his sons, his ministers, and his circle of well-wishers have been slain, and foresees himself living on in sorrow, wandering the earth in the aftermath.