Shloka 10
अमोघशक्तिव्यंसनप्रश्नः — Why Karṇa’s Śakti Was Not Used on Arjuna
तेषां संलोड्यमानानां पाण्डवै्हतचेतसाम् । अन्धे तमसि मग्नानामभवत् का मतिस्तदा,जब पाण्डवोंने उन सबको मथकर अचेत कर दिया और वे घोर अन्धकारमें डूब गये, तब मेरे उन सैनिकोंने क्या विचार किया?
teṣāṁ saṁloḍyamānānāṁ pāṇḍavair hata-cetasām | andhe tamasi magnānām abhavat kā matis tadā ||
ドリタラーシュトラは言った。「我が兵がパーンダヴァらに激しくかき乱され、感覚は砕け散り、目もくらむ闇へと沈んだその時――彼らの胸にどのような思い、どのような決意が生じたのか？」
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, fear and disorientation can eclipse judgment; it implicitly raises an ethical question about leadership—when troops are driven into panic and ‘darkness,’ what counsel or steadiness remains, and who bears responsibility for that collapse.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra asks what his soldiers thought or decided when the Pāṇḍavas overwhelmed them—shaking their formations, stunning their minds, and plunging them into a state described as ‘blind darkness,’ i.e., extreme confusion and despair.