Shloka 19
स्त्रीपर्व १: धृतराष्ट्रशोकः संजयाश्वासनं च
Strī Parva 1: Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament and Saṃjaya’s Consolation
परिणामश्न वयस: सर्वबन्धुक्षयश्व मे,अब मेरा बुढ़ापा आ गया, सारे बन्धु-बान्धवोंका विनाश हो गया और दैववश मेरे सुहृदों तथा मित्रोंका भी अन्त हो गया। भला, इस भूमण्डलमें अब मुझसे बढ़कर महान् दुःखी दूसरा कौन होगा?
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | pariṇāmaś ca vayasas sarva-bandhu-kṣayaś ca me | daiva-vaśāc ca me suhṛdāṁ mitrāṇāṁ cāpy antas samupasthitaḥ | bhūmaṇḍale ’smin mayā duḥkhitataro ’nyaḥ kaḥ syāt ||
ドリタラーシュトラは言った。「避けがたい老いの移ろいがわたしを覆い、わが一族はことごとく滅びた。しかも運命の力によって、わたしを思う者や友までもが終わりを迎えた。告げよ——この大地の上で、わたしよりなお深く嘆き苦しむ者がいようか。」
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the crushing moral and emotional aftermath of adharma-driven conflict: when one’s choices culminate in ruin, even kingship cannot shield one from grief. It also frames suffering through the twin lenses of time (aging) and daiva (fate), prompting reflection on responsibility, impermanence, and the cost of attachment.
In the opening of the Strī Parva, after the catastrophic war, Dhṛtarāṣṭra speaks in despair. He reflects that old age has come upon him and that his entire family line has been destroyed; even his friends and well-wishers are gone. He asks rhetorically who on earth could be more miserable than he.