Mahabharata 9.63.67 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 63, Shloka 67

Duryodhana’s Post-Duel Lament and Instructions (भग्नसक्थस्य विलापः)

Devanagari script

राज्स्त्वन्धस्य वृद्धस्य हतपुत्रस्य केशव

Transliteration

rājastvandhasya vṛddhasya hataputrasya keśava

Translation

Вайшампаяна сказал: «О Кешава, подумай о царе — слепом и престарелом, лишившемся сыновей».

Word by Word

• राज्ञः: of the king
• राज्ञः: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• त्वम्: you
• त्वम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Nominative, Singular

• अन्धस्य: of the blind (one)
• अन्धस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्ध
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• वृद्धस्य: of the aged (one)
• वृद्धस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वृद्ध
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• हतपुत्रस्य: of him whose son is slain / bereaved of a son
• हतपुत्रस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हतपुत्र
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• केशव: O Keshava (Krishna)
• केशव: Sambodhana
• Type: Noun
• Root: केशव
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Keśava (Kṛṣṇa)
• the king (Dhṛtarāṣṭra, implied)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds the ethical residue of war: beyond victory and strategy lies the suffering of the vulnerable—here, an aged blind king who has lost his sons—prompting reflection on compassion and the true cost of adharma-driven conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana addresses Keśava (Kṛṣṇa), drawing attention to the condition of the king—blind, old, and sonless after the slaughter—setting a tone of lament and moral reckoning in the post-battle context.