Shloka 28

धृतराष्ट्रस्य पाण्डवेषु प्रीति-वृत्तान्तः | Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Affectionate Disposition toward the Pāṇḍavas

Devanagari script

हतं शतं तु पुत्राणां ययोर्युद्धेधपलायिनाम्‌

Transliteration

hataṁ śataṁ tu putrāṇāṁ yayor yuddhe dhapalāyinām

Translation

Sinabi ni Dhṛtarāṣṭra: “Sa digmaang iyon, isang daang anak kong lalaki ang napatay—yaong mga iyon din na, sa harap ng labanan, ay naging mga tumalikod at tumakas.”

Word by Word

• हतम्: slain, killed
• हतम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हन् (धातु) → हत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• शतम्: a hundred
• शतम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• तु: but, indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• पुत्राणाम्: of (their) sons
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• ययोः: of whom (two)
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Feminine/Neuter, Genitive/Locative, Dual

• युद्धे: in battle
• युद्धे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: युद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• धपलायिनाम्: of the fleeing ones
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धपलायिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• the hundred sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra (Kauravas)
• the battle (Kurukṣetra war)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s grief through a moral lens: death in war is not only a personal loss but also a judgment on conduct—fleeing one’s duty and lacking steadfastness in a righteous struggle leads to ruin and remorse.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Ashramavāsika context, Dhṛtarāṣṭra recalls the catastrophic outcome of the Kurukṣetra war, stating that his hundred sons were killed, and he characterizes them as having fled or failed in the battle—an expression of sorrow mixed with self-reproach and bitter reflection.