Shloka 2
धृतराष्ट्रस्य मूर्च्छा—व्यासोपदेशः
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Collapse and Vyāsa’s Counsel
त॑ तथा पतितं भूमौ नि:संज्ञं प्रेक्ष्य बान्धवा: । कृष्णद्वैपायनश्रैव क्षत्ता च विदुरस्तथा
taṁ tathā patitaṁ bhūmau niḥsaṁjñaṁ prekṣya bāndhavāḥ | kṛṣṇadvaipāyanaś caiva kṣattā ca viduras tathā ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Seeing him fallen thus upon the ground, unconscious, his kinsmen looked on—along with Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana (Vyāsa) and Vidura, the royal chamberlain. The scene underscores the human cost of the war: even the wise and the close kin are compelled to witness the collapse of life and certainty in the wake of violence.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the stark reality of suffering after violence: even revered sages and righteous counselors must confront the consequences. Ethically, it points to the inevitability of grief and the fragility of embodied life, urging sobriety about the costs of adharma and conflict.
The narrator describes a person lying fallen and unconscious on the ground, while relatives look on. Present among the witnesses are Vyāsa (Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana) and Vidura, indicating that both family members and eminent elders are present at this moment of collapse and mourning in the post-war setting of the Strī Parva.