Shloka 6
भीष्मस्य भीमसेन-निरोधः
Bhīṣma checks Bhīmasena; matched engagements intensify
येन क्षयं न गच्छन्ति दिवि तारागणा इव । पुनः पुनर्न मृष्यामि हतं सैन्यं तु पाण्डवै:
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | yena kṣayaṃ na gacchanti divi tārāgaṇā iva | punaḥ punar na mṛṣyāmi hataṃ sainyaṃ tu pāṇḍavaiḥ ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra berkata: “Dengan cara apakah mereka tidak jatuh ke dalam kebinasaan—seperti gugusan bintang di langit? Aku tidak sanggup, berulang kali, mendengar bahawa tenteraku telah dibunuh oleh Pāṇḍava.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how attachment and partiality cloud judgment: Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s inability to endure repeated reports of defeat reveals a king’s emotional bondage, contrasting with the dharmic ideal of steadiness and impartial discernment in crisis.
In the Bhīṣma Parva war-reporting frame, Dhṛtarāṣṭra reacts to news of battlefield losses. He asks how the Pāṇḍavas remain seemingly undiminished—likened to the countless stars—while his own forces are repeatedly being slain, and he confesses he cannot bear hearing it.