Shloka 4
धृतराष्ट्रस्य मूर्च्छा तथा द्रोणविषयकप्रश्नाः
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Fainting and Questions Concerning Droṇa
क्षिप्रहस्तं द्विजश्रेष्ठ कृतिनं चित्रयोधिनम् दूरेषुपातिनं दान्तमस्त्रयुद्धेषु पारगम्
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | kṣiprahastaṃ dvijaśreṣṭha kṛtinaṃ citrayodhinam | dūreṣupātinaṃ dāntam astrayuddheṣu pāragam ||
持国王说道：“噢，最尊贵的两生者啊！德罗那手疾如风，功业圆满，又是善用百般奇诡战法的战士；他能以箭矢远射，克己自持，并精通兵器交战之学。既如此，般遮罗之王子德里什塔丢姆那，怎能杀死那位最上婆罗门——在战阵中坚不可撼、恒为胜利而奋进、身为大车战勇士——那在敌人眼中几乎处处不可战胜的德罗那呢？”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between personal excellence and the unpredictable outcomes of war: even a supremely skilled, disciplined, and seemingly invincible warrior can fall. It invites reflection on how fate, strategy, and moral complexity in battle can overturn expectations, and how power without invulnerability remains subject to larger forces.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra, hearing of Droṇa’s fall, recalls Droṇa’s extraordinary martial virtues—speed, range, mastery of astras, and self-control—and asks how such a formidable figure could be slain by Dhṛṣṭadyumna, the Pāñcāla prince, thereby expressing shock and seeking an explanation of the circumstances.