Shloka 8

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

Devanagari script

घातयित्वा कथं द्रोणं भीष्मं चापि पितामहम्‌ | मनस्ते5भून्महाबाहो हत्वा चापि जयद्रथम्‌,“महाबाहो! द्रोणाचार्य, पितामह भीष्म और जयद्रथका भी वध करके आपके मनकी कैसी अवस्था हुई?

Transliteration

ghātayitvā kathaṁ droṇaṁ bhīṣmaṁ cāpi pitāmaham | manas te 'bhūn mahābāho hatvā cāpi jayadratham ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “O mighty-armed one, after causing Droṇa and also Bhīṣma—the grandsire—to be slain, and after killing Jayadratha as well, what state did your mind come to?”

Word by Word

घातयित्वाhaving caused to be slain / having slain

कथम्how?

द्रोणम्Drona

भीष्मम्Bhishma

चand

अपिalso/even

पितामहम्the grandsire

मनःmind

तेof you/your

अभूत्was/became

महाबाहोO mighty-armed one

हत्वाhaving slain

चand

अपिalso/even

जयद्रथम्Jayadratha

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Droṇa (Droṇācārya)

Bhīṣma

Pitāmaha (epithet of Bhīṣma)

Jayadratha

Mahābāhu (addressee, a heroic warrior)

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 foregrounds the ethical and psychological aftermath of righteous war: even when killings occur under the pressure of dharma and necessity, the mind may be shaken by grief, guilt, and the weight of having brought down revered elders and formidable foes.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana asks a warrior addressed as “Mahābāhu” about his mental state after the deaths of Droṇa, Bhīṣma (the grandsire), and Jayadratha—highlighting the emotional reckoning that follows decisive but tragic victories in the Kurukṣetra war.