Shloka 11
स्त्रीपर्व १: धृतराष्ट्रशोकः संजयाश्वासनं च
Strī Parva 1: Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament and Saṃjaya’s Consolation
धृतराष्ट्र बोले--संजय! मेरे पुत्र, मन््त्री और समस्त सुहृद् मारे गये। अब तो अवश्य ही मैं इस पृथ्वीपर भटकता हुआ केवल दु:ख-ही-दुःख भोगूँगा ।। कि नु बन्धुविहीनस्य जीवितेन ममाद्य वै । लूनपक्षस्य इव मे जराजीर्णस्य पक्षिण:,जिसकी पाँखें काट ली गयी हों, उस जराजीर्ण पक्षीके समान बन्धु-बान्धवोंसे हीन हुए मुझ वृद्धको अब इस जीवनसे क्या प्रयोजन है?
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca— sañjaya! me putrā mantriṇaḥ samastāś ca suhṛdaḥ hatāḥ. adhunā tu niścayam eva aham asyāṃ pṛthivyāṃ bhraman kevalaṃ duḥkham eva duḥkham anubhokṣye. kiṃ nu bandhu-vihīnasya jīvitena mama adya vai? lūna-pakṣasya iva me jarā-jīrṇasya pakṣiṇaḥ— bandhu-bāndhava-hīnasya mama vṛddhasya idānīṃ jīvitena kiṃ prayojanam?
धृतराष्ट्र उवाच— संजय! मे पुत्रा हता अमात्याश्च सर्वे सुहृदश्च निहताः। नूनं दुःखमेव दुःखं भुञ्जानोऽहं पृथिवीमिमां विचरिष्यामि॥ किं नु बन्धुविहीनस्य जीवितेन ममाद्य वै। लूनपक्षस्य इव मे जराजीर्णस्य पक्षिणः॥
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the crushing weight of attachment and the karmic aftermath of destructive choices: when one’s support-system and loved ones are lost, worldly life can feel purposeless. Ethically, it points to the consequences of adharma—how partiality and unchecked ambition culminate in irreversible grief.
In the opening of Strī Parva, Dhṛtarāṣṭra reacts to the annihilation of his side in the war. Speaking to Sañjaya, he mourns the death of his sons, ministers, and friends, and compares himself to an old bird with clipped wings—alive, yet unable to move forward with dignity or hope.