Shloka 32
अध्याय ९ — धृतराष्ट्रस्य युधिष्ठिरं प्रति राजनित्युपदेशः
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Counsel on Royal Policy to Yudhiṣṭhira
न च क्षयो<यं नृपते ऋते दैवबलादभूत् | अवश्यमेव संग्रामे क्षत्रियेण विशेषत:
na ca kṣayo ’yaṃ nṛpate ṛte daivabalād abhūt | avaśyam eva saṅgrāme kṣatriyeṇa viśeṣataḥ ||
न च क्षयोऽयं नृपते ऋते दैवबलादभूत् । अवश्यमेव संग्रामे क्षत्रियेण विशेषतः ॥
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames wartime destruction as arising under the force of destiny (daiva-bala) and as something regarded as inevitable in the kṣatriya sphere; it highlights the tension between human agency and the larger moral-cosmic order that governs outcomes.
Vaiśampāyana addresses the king and interprets the great ruin as not merely human-caused but propelled by destiny, emphasizing that in the context of battle—particularly for kṣatriyas—such loss is treated as an unavoidable consequence of warfare.