Shloka 9
Adhyāya 8: Saṃprahāra-varṇana and Bhīma–Kṣemadhūrti Dvipa-Yuddha
Combat Description and Elephant Duel
विस्नस्ताड़: श्वसन् दीनो हाहेत्युक्त्वा सुदु:ःखितः: । विललाप महाराज धृतराष्ट्रोडम्बिकासुत:
vaiśampāyana uvāca | visnastaḍaḥ śvasan dīno hāhety uktvā suduḥkhitaḥ | vilalāpa mahārāja dhṛtarāṣṭro ’mbikāsutaḥ ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśaṃpāyana: O dakilang Hari, si Dhṛtarāṣṭra na anak ni Ambikā—nayanig at nawalan ng tatag—ay huminga nang mabigat. Kaawa-awa at lubog sa matinding pighati, sumigaw siya, “Ay! Ay!” at nagsimulang managhoy. Ang balita ng pagbagsak ni Karṇa ay tumama sa kanya na parang halos imposible; at sa pagninilay, sinakmal siya ng takot na kung napatay si Karṇa, di na maililigtas ang hukbong Kaurava at tiyak na ang susunod pang pagkapuksa.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how attachment and reliance on worldly power collapse in the face of inevitable consequences: when the seemingly ‘invincible’ falls, the mind is forced to confront impermanence and the moral cost of one’s chosen side. Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s grief reflects the karmic and ethical unraveling of a war sustained by partiality and adharma.
Vaiśampāyana narrates Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s immediate reaction upon hearing of Karṇa’s death: he is shaken, breathes heavily, cries “Alas,” and begins to lament, sensing that the Kaurava cause is now doomed.