Shloka 1
धृतराष्ट्रस्य मूर्च्छा—व्यासोपदेशः
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Collapse and Vyāsa’s Counsel
(दाक्षिणात्य अधिक पाठका १ श्लोक मिलाकर कुल ३० “लोक हैं।) ऑपनआक्षाता बछ। अंक अष्टमो> ध्याय: व्यासजीका संहारको अवश्यम्भावी बताकर धृतराष्ट्रको समझाना वैशम्पायन उवाच विदुरस्य तु तद् वाक््यं निशम्य कुरुसत्तम: । पुत्रशोकाभिसंतप्त: पपात भुवि मूर्च्छित:,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--राजन्! विदुरजीके ये वचन सुनकर कुरुश्रेष्ठ राजा धुृतराष्ट्र पुत्रशोकसे संतप्त एवं मूर्च्छित होकर पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़े
vaiśampāyana uvāca
vidurasya tu tad vākyaṃ niśamya kurusattamaḥ |
putraśokābhisaṃtaptaḥ papāta bhuvi mūrcchitaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: O King, having heard those words of Vidura, Dhṛtarāṣṭra—the foremost of the Kurus—overwhelmed by grief for his sons, collapsed upon the ground, fainting. The scene underscores how unchecked attachment and the consequences of adharma culminate not only in political ruin but in personal devastation.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the crushing force of attachment (especially to one’s children and power) when it is tied to adharma: after ruin has come, even wise counsel can arrive as unbearable truth, and grief becomes physically incapacitating. It implicitly commends timely listening to dharmic advice—before consequences become irreversible.
After Vidura speaks to Dhṛtarāṣṭra in the aftermath of the war, Dhṛtarāṣṭra hears his words and, consumed by sorrow for his slain sons, loses consciousness and falls to the ground.