विसर्जयन्ति संहृष्टा: क्रीडमाना: कुमारका: । लूनपक्षतया तस्य गमन॑ नोपपद्यते
visarjayanti saṁhṛṣṭāḥ krīḍamānāḥ kumārakāḥ | lūnapakṣatayā tasya gamanaṁ nopapadyate ||
खेळता-खेळता आनंदाने मुले त्याला सोडून देतात; पण पंख कापले गेल्यामुळे त्याचे खरे जाणे शक्य होत नाही.
धृतराष्ट उवाच
A freedom that is granted after one has been crippled is not real freedom. The verse uses a simple image—children releasing a wing-clipped creature—to highlight the ethical emptiness of allowing action while having already removed the capacity to act.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra speaks in a metaphorical register, describing playful boys releasing something whose wings have been cut; it cannot actually depart. In the war-context of Karṇa Parva, the image underscores helplessness and the futility of expecting meaningful movement or escape once the means have been destroyed.