Shloka 12

Devanagari script

हृतराज्यो हतबन्धुर्हतचक्षुश्व वै तथा । न भ्राजिष्ये महाप्राज्ञ क्षीणरश्मिरिवांशुमान्‌

Transliteration

hṛtarājyo hatabandhur hata-cakṣuś ca vai tathā | na bhrājiṣye mahāprājña kṣīṇa-raśmir ivāṃśumān ||

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Bereft of my kingdom, my kinsmen slain, and my sight destroyed as well, O greatly wise one, I shall no longer shine—like the sun whose rays have been drained away.”

Word by Word

हृतराज्यःone whose kingdom has been taken away

हतबन्धुःone whose kinsmen are slain

हतचक्षुःone whose eyes are destroyed (blind)

चand

वैindeed

तथाthus; likewise

नnot

भ्राजिष्येI shall shine

महाप्राज्ञO very wise one

क्षीणरश्मिःhaving weakened rays

इवlike; as if

अंशुमान्the sun (the radiant one)

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

the sun (aṃśumān)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the fragility of worldly power and splendor: when dharma is shattered by war and kin-slaying, external sovereignty and inner radiance both collapse, leaving the ruler morally and emotionally diminished.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the opening of the Strī Parva, Dhṛtarāṣṭra voices his devastation after the Kurukṣetra war—his kingdom is lost, his family line is destroyed, and he is overwhelmed by helplessness, comparing himself to a sun that can no longer shine.