Shloka 2
कर्णस्य सेनापत्यं, माकरव्यूहः, पाण्डवानामर्धचन्द्रव्यूहः
Karna’s Command; Mākara Formation; Pandava Crescent Counter-Array
तौ हि वीरौ महेष्वासौ मदर्थे कुरुसत्तमौ । भीष्मद्रोणौ हतीौ श्रुत्वा नार्थो वै जीवितेड्सति
tau hi vīrau maheṣvāsau madarthe kurusattamau | bhīṣmadroṇau hatāv śrutvā nārtho vai jīvite 'sti ||
ਧ੍ਰਿਤਰਾਸ਼ਟਰ ਬੋਲੇ—ਕੁਰੂਆਂ ਦੇ ਸ਼੍ਰੇਸ਼ਠ, ਮਹਾਧਨੁਰਧਰ ਉਹ ਦੋਵੇਂ ਵੀਰ ਭੀਸ਼ਮ ਅਤੇ ਦ੍ਰੋਣ ਮੇਰੇ ਹੀ ਕਾਰਨ ਮਾਰੇ ਗਏ; ਇਹ ਸੁਣ ਕੇ ਇਸ ਅਧਮ ਜੀਵਨ ਨੂੰ ਸੰਭਾਲ ਕੇ ਰੱਖਣ ਦਾ ਹੁਣ ਕੋਈ ਲਾਭ ਨਹੀਂ।
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral weight of leadership and attachment: Dhṛtarāṣṭra interprets the fall of revered elders as occurring “for my sake,” and his despair shows how unchecked ambition and partiality can culminate in guilt, loss of meaning, and a collapse of resolve.
In the Karṇa Parva, Dhṛtarāṣṭra hears that Bhīṣma and Droṇa—pillar-like elders and master warriors of the Kuru side—have been killed. Overwhelmed, he laments that their deaths were on his account and declares that continuing to live now seems purposeless.