Shloka 21
क्व तदा धृतराष्ट्रस्य स्नेहो5स्मद्गोचरो गत:,क्व तदा द्रोणभीष्मौ तौ सोमदत्तो5पि वाभवत् | “उन दिनों धृतराष्ट्रका हमारे प्रति स्नेह कहाँ चला गया था? जब तुम्हारे आभरण एवं आभूषण उतार लिये गये और तुम काले मृगचर्मसे अपने शरीरको ढँककर द्रौपदीके साथ राजाके समीप गये, उस समय द्रोणाचार्य और भीष्म कहाँ थे? सोमदत्तजी भी कहाँ चले गये थे
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
kva tadā dhṛtarāṣṭrasya sneho ’smad-gocaro gataḥ,
kva tadā droṇa-bhīṣmau tau somadatto ’pi vābhavat |
Vaiśampāyana nói: “Khi ấy, tình thương của Dhṛtarāṣṭra đối với chúng ta—vốn từng hiển lộ rõ ràng—đã biến mất đi đâu? Khi ấy Droṇa và Bhīṣma ở đâu, và Somadatta cũng đã đi đâu?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights ethical accountability: when injustice occurs, especially against the vulnerable, the duty of rulers and elders is to protect and speak. Their silence is portrayed as a grave lapse of dharma, making them morally answerable even if they did not directly commit the act.
Vaiśampāyana, recounting past events, voices a pointed lament: at the critical moment of wrongdoing in the Kuru court, Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s earlier goodwill toward the Pāṇḍavas seemed to vanish, and the great elders—Droṇa, Bhīṣma, and Somadatta—were effectively ‘absent’ through inaction.