Shloka 28

धृतराष्ट्रस्य उपालम्भः तथा पाण्डव-समाश्वासनम् | Dhṛtarāṣṭra Reproved and the Pāṇḍavas Consoled

Devanagari script

पुत्रशोकाभिसंतप्तं धर्मादपकृतं मन: । तव राजेन्द्र तेन त्वं भीमसेनं जिघांससि,'राजेन्द्र! आपका मन पुत्रशोकसे संतप्त हो धर्मसे विचलित हो गया है; इसीलिये आप भीमसेनको मार डालना चाहते हैं

Transliteration

putraśokābhisantāptaṁ dharmād apakṛtaṁ manaḥ | tava rājendra tena tvaṁ bhīmasenaṁ jighāṁsasi ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “O king, your mind, scorched by grief for your son, has swerved away from dharma. It is for this reason that you now wish to kill Bhīmasena.”

Word by Word

पुत्रशोकाभिसंतप्तम्tormented by grief for (your) son

धर्मात्from dharma

अपकृतम्turned away / deviated

मनःmind

तवyour

राजेन्द्रO king of kings

तेनtherefore / by that (reason)

त्वम्you

भीमसेनम्Bhimasena

जिघांससिyou wish to kill / you intend to kill

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Bhīmasena (Bhīma)

rājendra (the king addressed, i.e., Dhṛtarāṣṭra in context)

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?

Intense personal grief can distort judgment and pull one away from dharma; ethical restraint is required especially for rulers, lest sorrow turn into vengeful wrongdoing.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the aftermath of the war, the king—overwhelmed by the loss of his son—harbors a desire to kill Bhīma; the narrator frames this impulse as a deviation from dharma caused by grief.