Shloka 223

अध्याय ९ — कर्णस्य प्रहारः, योधयुग्मनियोजनम्, शैनेय-कैकेययोर्युद्धविन्यासः

Devanagari script

कच्चिन्न निहत:ः शूरो यथान्ये क्षत्रियर्षभा: । सूत! क्या मेरा पुत्र दुःशासन दीनचित्त और पुरुषार्थशून्य होकर कायरके समान भागता हुआ मारा गया। तात! उसने युद्धस्थलमें कोई दीनतापूर्ण बर्ताव तो नहीं किया था। जैसे अन्य क्षत्रियशिरोमणि मारे गये हैं, क्या उसी प्रकार शूरवीर दुःशासन नहीं मारा गया?

Transliteration

kaccin na nihataḥ śūro yathānye kṣatriyarṣabhāḥ | sūta! kiṃ me putro duḥśāsano dīnacittaḥ puruṣārthaśūnyaḥ kṛpaṇavat palāyamāno hataḥ? tāta! sa yuddhasthale kiṃcid dīnatāpūrṇaṃ vyavahāraṃ na kṛtavān? yathānye kṣatriyaśiromaṇayo hatāḥ, kiṃ tathā śūravīro duḥśāsano na nihataḥ?

Translation

持国王说道：“苏多啊，那位勇士是否也像其他雄健的刹帝利一样被杀了？告诉我——我的儿子杜沙萨那，是否心志崩溃、男儿之力耗尽，竟如懦夫般逃跑时被杀？孩子啊，他在战场上可曾有过卑劣之举？既然诸多最杰出的刹帝利都已倒下，难道英勇的杜沙萨那不也同样被击毙了吗？”

Word by Word

कच्चित्whether, I hope (interrogative particle)

नnot

निहतःslain, killed

शूरःhero, brave man

यथाas, just as

अन्येother (ones)

क्षत्रियर्षभाःbulls among kshatriyas, foremost warriors

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Sañjaya (addressed as Sūta)

Duḥśāsana

kṣatriya warriors (others)

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 kṣatriya ideal of steadfastness in battle and the moral weight placed on courage and conduct. It also exposes how parental attachment can distort ethical judgment—Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s concern is less about justice and more about whether his son avoided ‘ignoble’ behavior and died with honor.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra anxiously questions Sañjaya about Duḥśāsana’s fate. He asks whether Duḥśāsana has been killed like other leading warriors and, crucially, whether he died while fleeing in fear or maintained proper battlefield conduct.