Shloka 10
धृतराष्ट्रस्य मूर्च्छा—व्यासोपदेशः
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Collapse and Vyāsa’s Counsel
तथैवाहं करिष्यामि अद्यैव द्विजसत्तम । इत्युक्त्वा तु महात्मानं पितरं ब्रह्मुवित्तमम्,'द्विजश्रेष्ठ] इसलिये आज ही मैं अपने प्राणोंका परित्याग कर दूँगा।” अपने ब्रह्मवेत्ता पिता महात्मा व्यासजीसे ऐसा कहकर राजा धृतराष्ट्र अत्यन्त शोकमें डूब गये और सुध-बुध खो बैठे। राजन! पुत्रोंका ही चिन्तन करते हुए वे बूढ़े नरेश वहाँ मौन होकर बैठे रह गये
tathaivāhaṃ kariṣyāmi adyaiva dvijasattama | ity uktvā tu mahātmānaṃ pitaraṃ brahmavittamam ||
“So indeed I shall do it—today itself, O best of Brahmins.” Having spoken thus to his great-souled father, the foremost knower of Brahman, Dhṛtarāṣṭra was overwhelmed by grief and lost all composure. Absorbed only in thoughts of his sons, the aged king sat there in silence, stunned by sorrow.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how overwhelming attachment and bereavement can destabilize judgment, and it implicitly points to the need for steadiness (dhairya) and dharmic restraint even amid catastrophic loss—especially for a ruler whose inner state affects the realm.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra, speaking to his father Vyāsa (addressed as a supreme Brahmin and knower of Brahman), declares he will act immediately—contextually, a resolve toward giving up life. After saying this, he is consumed by sorrow, loses awareness, and sits silently, fixated on his dead sons.