Shloka 11
अमोघशक्तिव्यंसनप्रश्नः — Why Karṇa’s Śakti Was Not Used on Arjuna
प्रह्षटं श्वाप्युदग्रांश्व॒ संतुष्टाश्नैव पाण्डवान् | शंससीहाप्रद्नषटंश्न विश्रष्टांश्षैव मामकान्
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | prahṛṣṭaṁ śvāpy udagrāṁś ca saṁtuṣṭāṁś caiva pāṇḍavān | śaṁsasīhāpradhṛṣṭāṁś ca viśraṣṭāṁś caiva māmakān ||
ಧೃತರಾಷ್ಟ್ರನು ಹೇಳಿದರು— ನೀ ಪಾಂಡವರನ್ನು ಹರ್ಷಿತರು, ಉನ್ನತೋತ್ಸಾಹಿಗಳು, ತೃಪ್ತರು ಎಂದು ವರ್ಣಿಸುತ್ತೀಯೆ; ನನ್ನವರನ್ನು ಮಾತ್ರ ಮನೋಭಂಗಗೊಂಡು ಶಿಥಿಲರಾದವರು ಎಂದು ಹೇಳುತ್ತೀಯೆ. ಸಂಜಯ, ಏಕೆ ಹೀಗೆ?
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how inner disposition—confidence, contentment, and courage versus fear and slackness—shapes outcomes in conflict. It also reflects Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s partiality: he instinctively measures events by the rise of the Pāṇḍavas and the decline of “my own,” revealing how attachment clouds judgment.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra reacts to a report about the battlefield situation: the Pāṇḍavas are being described as joyful and energized, while the Kaurava side is described as dispirited. He questions this contrast, seeking to understand why the morale of the two armies differs so sharply.