Shloka 22

अध्याय ९ — कर्णस्य प्रहारः, योधयुग्मनियोजनम्, शैनेय-कैकेययोर्युद्धविन्यासः

Devanagari script

कच्चिद्‌ विनिहतः सूत पुत्रो दःशासनो मम । कच्चिन्न दीनाचरितं कृतवांस्तात संयुगे

Transliteration

kaccid vinihataḥ sūtaputro daḥśāsano mama | kaccin na dīnācaritaṃ kṛtavāṃs tāta saṃyuge ||

Translation

ธฤตราษฏระตรัสว่า “โอ้ สุตะ บุตรของเรา ทุหฺศาสนะ ถูกสังหารแล้วหรือ? และลูกเอ๋ย เขามิได้ประพฤติอาการต่ำต้อยหรือขลาดเขลาในสนามรบใช่หรือไม่?”

Word by Word

कच्चित्whether? (interrogative particle, expressing anxious inquiry)

विनिहतःslain, killed

सूतcharioteer; (here) of a charioteer

पुत्रःson

दुःशासनःDuhshasana

ममof me, my

कच्चित्whether? (again, anxious inquiry)

नnot

दीनाचरितम्a mean/abject act (lit. conduct of the wretched)

कृतवान्has done, did

तातdear one; son (vocative address)

संयुगेin battle

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Duḥśāsana

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even amid grief and attachment, the verse foregrounds the ethical expectation of honorable conduct in war (kṣatriya-dharma): death is feared, but disgraceful or cowardly behavior is treated as a deeper moral failure.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra, anxious for news, questions whether Duḥśāsana has been killed and, if so, whether he at least fought without ignoble conduct—revealing both paternal attachment and concern for martial reputation.