Shloka 8
Duryodhana’s Account of Gandharva Defeat and the Pandavas’ Intervention (दुर्योधनवर्णितो गन्धर्वसंग्रामः)
प्रोवाच दैन्याभिहतान्तरात्मा नि:श्वासवातोपहतस्तदानीम् । वाचं कथंचित् स्थिरतामुपेत्य तत् सर्वमात्मप्रभवं विचिन्त्य,ब्राह्मणकी ये बातें सुनकर विचित्रवीर्यनन्दन राजा धृतराष्ट्र दयासे द्रवित हो बहुत दुःखी हो गये। जब उन्होंने सुना कि राजाके पुत्र और पौत्र होकर भी पाण्डव इस प्रकार दुःखकी नदीमें डूबे हुए हैं, तब उनका हृदय करुणासे भर आया और वे लंबी-लंबी साँसे खींचते हुए किसी प्रकार धैर्य धारण करके सब कुछ अपनी ही करतूतका परिणाम समझकर यों बोले --
provāca dainyābhihatāntarātmā niḥśvāsa-vātopahatas tadānīm | vācaṁ kathaṁcit sthiratām upetya tat sarvam ātma-prabhavaṁ vicintya ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Struck within by misery and shaken then by the gusts of heavy sighing, he somehow steadied his voice. Reflecting that all this had arisen from his own doing, he spoke—his heart softened with compassion on hearing how the Pāṇḍavas, though born as sons and grandsons of kings, were nevertheless drowning in a river of suffering.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights moral accountability: even amid grief and compassion, one must recognize how suffering can arise from one’s own choices and failures of judgment (ātma-prabhavam). It frames lamentation not as mere emotion but as an ethical reckoning with causality and responsibility.
After hearing distressing news about the Pāṇḍavas’ hardships, Dhṛtarāṣṭra becomes deeply moved. Overcome by sorrow—signaled by long sighs—he gathers composure, reflects that the situation is the result of his own conduct, and begins to speak.