Shloka 2936

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

Devanagari script

व्यायच्छमाना: समरे किमन्यद्‌ भागधेयत: । जब ऐसे वीरोंके बीचमें रहकर भी प्रयत्नपूर्वक लड़नेवाले मेरे पुत्र समरांगणमें मार डाले गये, तब इसे भाग्यके सिवा और क्या कहा जा सकता है?

Transliteration

vyāyacchamānāḥ samare kim anyad bhāgadheyataḥ | yad ete vīrāṇāṃ madhye sthitvāpi prayatnapūrvakaṃ yuddhyamānā mama putrāḥ samarāṅgaṇe māritāḥ, tad bhāgyasya vinā anyat kim ucyate ||

Translation

持国说道：“他们在战阵中竭尽全力——这还能称作别的什么，若非命运？即便身处那般英雄之中，仍以审慎之力奋战，我的儿子们却在战场上被杀。若非宿命，此事又当如何称呼？”

Word by Word

• व्यायच्छमाना: striving, exerting (themselves)
• व्यायच्छमाना: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: व्यायच्छ (वि + आ + यम् धातु)
• Form: शतृ (वर्तमान कृदन्त), पुं, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• समरे: in battle
• समरे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: समर
• Form: पुं, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• किम्: what
• किम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: किम्
• Form: नपुं, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• अन्यत्: other (than this)
• अन्यत्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य
• Form: नपुं, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन

• भागधेयत: than fate; from destiny
• भागधेयत: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भागधेय
• Form: नपुं, पञ्चमी, एकवचन

Speaker

धघतयाट्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• my sons (the Kauravas)
• battlefield (samarāṅgaṇa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the tension between human effort (prayatna) and destiny (bhāgya/bhāgadheya): even strenuous striving amid capable allies may end in ruin, prompting reflection on whether outcomes are governed by fate, past karma, or one’s own choices.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra laments the death of his sons in the war. He notes that they fought earnestly and were surrounded by renowned warriors, yet were still killed, and he interprets this catastrophic outcome as the working of destiny.