Shloka 18
कर्णसेनापत्यारम्भः — Karṇa’s Appointment and the Report to Dhṛtarāṣṭra
Chapter 1
जनमेजय उवाच आपगेय॑ हत॑ श्रुत्वा द्रोणं चापि महारथम् । आजगाम परामर्ति वृद्धो राजाम्बिकासुत:,जनमेजय बोले--ब्रह्मन्! गंगानन्दन भीष्म तथा महारथी द्रोणको मारा गया सुनकर ही बूढ़े राजा अम्बिकानन्दन धृतराष्ट्रको बड़ी भारी वेदना हुई थी
Janamejaya uvāca: āpageyaṁ hataṁ śrutvā droṇaṁ cāpi mahāratham | ājagāma parāmarti vṛddho rājāmbikāsutaḥ ||
Janamejaya disse: “Ó brâmane, quando o velho rei Dhṛtarāṣṭra—filho de Ambikā—ouviu que Bhīṣma, o filho do Ganges, fora morto, e que Droṇa também, o grande guerreiro de carro, havia tombado, foi tomado por intensa angústia.”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the human cost of war: even a king is shaken by sorrow when confronted with the fall of revered elders and teachers. It implicitly warns that attachment and dynastic conflict can culminate in irreversible loss, testing one’s steadiness and sense of dharma.
Janamejaya asks about Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s reaction after hearing that Bhīṣma (Gaṅgā’s son) and Droṇa, both foremost warriors and leaders, had been killed. The news brings overwhelming anguish to the aged king.