Shloka 94
अध्याय ९ — कर्णस्य प्रहारः, योधयुग्मनियोजनम्, शैनेय-कैकेययोर्युद्धविन्यासः
संजय! मेरी इस सेनाका उत्कर्ष अथवा उत्साह नष्ट हो गया है। इसके प्रमुख वीर कर्णके मारे जानेपर अब यह बच सकेगी, ऐसा मुझे नहीं दिखायी देता है ।।
sañjaya! meyā asyāḥ senāyā utkarṣaḥ athavā utsāho naṣṭo gataḥ. asyāḥ pradhāna-vīrasya karṇasya māraṇe sati idānīm eṣā rakṣituṃ śakṣyati iti me na pratibhāti. tau hi vīrau maheṣvāsau mad-arthe tyakta-jīvitau—bhīṣma-droṇau hatāv iti śrutvā ko ’narthaḥ jīvitena me?
“Sanjaya! Ang lakas—maging ang mismong diwa—ng hukbong ito ay gumuho na. Ngayong napatay na ang pangunahing bayani nito, si Karna, hindi ko na nakikita kung paano pa ito makaliligtas. Ang dalawang makapangyarihang mamamana—sina Bhishma at Drona—ay tinalikdan ang pagkakapit sa buhay alang-alang sa akin; nang marinig kong sila’y napatay, ano pa ang saysay ng patuloy kong pamumuhay?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how attachment to power and dependence on a few champions leads to collapse when they fall; it also portrays the ethical cost of war—grief, guilt, and the emptiness of victory or survival when one’s cause and supports are destroyed.
Dhritarashtra, speaking to Sanjaya through Vaishampayana’s narration, reacts to the news that Karna has been killed. He declares the Kaurava army’s morale broken and recalls that Bhishma and Drona had fought ready to die for his sake; hearing they are dead, he questions the value of his own life.