Shloka 136
रणभूमिवर्णनम् — Devāsuropama-yuddha and the ‘River’ Metaphor of the Battlefield
पातनं शंस मे भूय: शल्यस्याथ सुतस्य मे | धृतराष्ट्र बोले--संजय! मैंने द्रोणाचार्य
pātanaṃ śaṃsa me bhūyaḥ śalyasyātha sutasya me |
पातनं शंस मे भूयः शल्यस्याथ सुतस्य मे । धृतराष्ट्र उवाच—संजय, द्रोणस्य भीष्मस्य राधेयस्य च पातनवृत्तान्तं सम्यगश्रौषम् । इदानीं शल्यस्य मम पुत्रस्य दुर्योधनस्य च वधवृत्तान्तं पुनः सम्यग्विस्तरेण मे ब्रूहि ॥
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral psychology of war’s aftermath: even after hearing of great elders and heroes falling, Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s attachment to his son drives him to seek repeated recounting. It underscores how moha (delusion/attachment) persists amid catastrophe, shaping perception and inquiry.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra, listening through Sañjaya’s report, says he has already heard the deaths of Droṇa, Bhīṣma, and Karṇa, and now requests a full account of how Śalya and his own son Duryodhana were brought down.