Shloka 10

धृतराष्ट्रविलापः — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament and Inquiry (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 2)

Devanagari script

कथं त्वं पृथिवीपालांस्त्यक्त्वा तात समागतान्‌ | शेषे विनिहतो भूमौ प्राकृत: कुनूपो यथा,तात! तुम यहाँ पधारे हुए समस्त भूमिपालोंको छोड़कर किसी नीच और दुष्ट राजाके समान मारे जाकर पृथ्वीपर कैसे सो रहे हो?

Transliteration

kathaṁ tvaṁ pṛthivīpālāṁs tyaktvā tāta samāgatān | śeṣe vinihato bhūmau prākṛtaḥ kunūpo yathā ||

Translation

Wika ni Dhṛtarāṣṭra: “Anak ko, paano mo napabayaan ang mga haring nagkatipon dito, at ngayo’y nakahandusay ka sa lupa, napatay, na parang isang karaniwang hamak? Paano ka bumagsak sa ganyang kapalaran?”

Word by Word

कथम्how?

त्वम्you

पृथिवीपालान्earth-protectors, kings

त्यक्त्वाhaving abandoned

तातdear father / dear one

समागतान्assembled, arrived

शेषेyou lie / you sleep

विनिहतःslain, struck down

भूमौon the ground / on the earth

प्राकृतःcommon, base, vulgar

कुनूपःa low/wicked man (as a proper/common noun here)

यथाlike, as

तातdear one!

Speaker

धघतयाट्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

tāta (addressed son, i.e., Duryodhana in context)

pṛthivīpālāḥ (kings/rulers)

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?

The verse highlights the ethical contrast between royal duty and ignoble downfall: a king is expected to uphold honor, protect allies, and stand firm in responsibility; abandoning one’s role and ending in disgrace is portrayed as a moral and social collapse, intensified by a father’s grief and reproach.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra addresses his son (contextually Duryodhana) after a disastrous turn in the war, lamenting that he lies struck down on the ground and questioning how he could have forsaken the gathered kings and come to such a humiliating state.