Shloka 123
धृतराष्ट्रस्य मूर्च्छा तथा द्रोणविषयकप्रश्नाः
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Fainting and Questions Concerning Droṇa
पतनं भास्करस्यथेव न मृष्ये द्रोणपातनम् । द्रोणका रणभूमिमें गिराया जाना समुद्रके सूखने, मेरु पर्वतके चलने-फिरने और सूर्यके आकाशसे टूटकर गिरनेके समान है। मैं इसे किसी प्रकार सहन नहीं कर पाता
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | patanaṃ bhāskarasyeva na mṛṣye droṇapātanam | droṇaḥ raṇabhūmau pātitaḥ samudrasya śoṣaṇena meror calanena bhāskarasya nabhastalaṃ bhittvā patanena ca samam iva manye | etad ahaṃ kathaṃcid api na sahāmi |
持国王说道：“我无法忍受德罗那的陨落——正如无人能忍受太阳坠落一般。德罗那在战场上被击倒，于我看来，犹如大海枯竭、须弥山移位，或太阳从苍穹断裂而坠地。我无论如何都无法承受。”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how the fall of a revered figure (a teacher-warrior like Droṇa) can feel like a collapse of the moral and cosmic order. It also implicitly raises the ethical tension of war: even when victory is sought, the destruction of venerable elders is experienced as a profound, almost world-shattering loss.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra hears of Droṇa being felled in battle and reacts with intense shock and sorrow. He uses cosmic-scale comparisons—ocean drying, Meru moving, the sun falling—to convey that Droṇa’s downfall is, to him, unimaginable and unbearable.