Shloka 20
द्वैपायनह्रदे दुर्योधनान्वेषणम् / The Search for Duryodhana at Dvaipāyana Lake
धृतराष्ट उवाच निहते मामके सैन्ये नि:शेषे शिबिरे कृते । पाण्डवानां बले सूत कि नु शेषमभूत् तदा
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca
nihate māmake sainye niḥśeṣe śibire kṛte |
pāṇḍavānāṃ bale sūta kiṃ nu śeṣam abhūt tadā ||
ധൃതരാഷ്ട്രൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഹേ സൂതാ! എന്റെ സൈന്യം മുഴുവനായി നിഹതമായി, ശിബിരവും പൂർണ്ണമായി നശിച്ചപ്പോൾ, അപ്പോൾ പാണ്ഡവരുടെ ബലത്തിൽ എന്താണ് ശേഷിച്ചിരുന്നത്?
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral and psychological reckoning after catastrophic violence: even after total victory or total defeat, a ruler must confront consequences and realities rather than illusions of power. Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s question reflects belated accountability—seeking to measure what remains after adharma-driven war has consumed nearly everything.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra questions Sañjaya about the state of the Pāṇḍavas after the Kaurava forces have been annihilated and their camp devastated. He wants to know what strength or forces the Pāṇḍavas still possess at that point in the war’s aftermath.