Shloka 7
धृतराष्ट्रस्य मूर्च्छा स्त्रीणां च आर्तनादः
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Collapse and the Lament of the Palace Women
भवतां बाहुवीर्य हि समाश्रित्य मया युधि । पाण्डवेया: समाहूता युद्ध चेदं प्रवर्तितम्,“वीरो! आपलोगोंके बाहुबलका भरोसा करके मैंने युद्धके लिये पाण्डवोंको ललकारा है और यह युद्ध आरम्भ किया है
bhavatāṃ bāhuvīrya hi samāśritya mayā yudhi | pāṇḍaveyāḥ samāhūtā yuddha cedaṃ pravartitam ||
Sañjaya disse: “Confiando na força dos vossos braços poderosos, desafiei no campo de batalha os filhos de Pāṇḍu e assim pus esta guerra em movimento. A afirmação ressalta como a confiança no poder marcial se torna a causa imediata da escalada do conflito, deslocando a responsabilidade da contenção e do conselho para o ímpeto da violência.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights ethical causality in war: when leaders rely on sheer force and pride in martial strength, they more readily provoke opponents and trigger violence. It implicitly contrasts power-based confidence with dharmic restraint and accountability for initiating conflict.
Sanjaya reports that, trusting in the Kaurava side’s arm-strength and heroism, he (as narrator of events) describes how the Pāṇḍavas were challenged on the battlefield and how the war was thereby begun—framing the outbreak of fighting as a deliberate provocation grounded in confidence of strength.