Shloka 16
द्रोणाभिमुखानां निवारण-युद्धम् / Interceptions on the Droṇa-front
कथं स्यादवशेषो हि धुर्ययोरभ्यतीतयो: । यौ नित्यमुपजीवाम: क्षमिणौ पुरुषर्षभौ,हमलोग सदा जिन सर्वसमर्थ पुरुषसिंहोंका आश्रय लेकर जीवन धारण करते थे, उन धुरंधर वीरोंके इस लोकसे चले जानेपर अब हमारी सेनाका कोई भी सैनिक कैसे जीवित बच सकता है
kathaṁ syād avaśeṣo hi dhuryayor abhyatītayoḥ | yau nityam upajīvāmaḥ kṣamiṇau puruṣarṣabhau ||
ドリタラーシュトラは言った。「あの二人の最上の勇士が逝った今、どうして生き残りがあろうか。われらは常に、忍耐深き英雄たち—人の中の雄牛—に寄りすがって生を保ってきた。かかる柱がこの世を去ったなら、我が軍の兵の一人とて、どうして生き残れよう。」
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the fragility of power structures built on a few exceptional individuals: when the principal protectors fall, collective confidence collapses. It also underscores impermanence in war and the ethical weight of relying on might rather than stable dharma-based order.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra, hearing of the departure (death) of two key champions on whom the Kauravas depended, expresses disbelief that any of his soldiers could survive. His words convey shock, grief, and the sense that the army’s very life depended on those leaders.