Dhritarashtra Laments and Asks Again for the Account

Verse 1 (7.24.1)

व्यथयेयुरिमे सेनां देवानामपि सञ्जय । आहवे ये न्यवर्तन्त वृकोदरमुखा नृपाः ॥

vyathayeyurime senāṃ devānāmapi sañjaya | āhave ye nyavartanta vṛkodaramukhā nṛpāḥ

"These kings, led by Vrikodara, who turned back in the battle could shake even the army of the gods, Sanjaya."

Verse 2 (7.24.2)

सम्प्रयुक्तः किलैवायं दिष्टैर्भवति पूरुषः । तस्मिन्नेव च सर्वार्थाः प्रदृश्यन्ते पृथग्विधाः ॥

samprayuktaḥ kilaivāyaṃ diṣṭairbhavati pūruṣaḥ | tasminneva ca sarvārthāḥ pradṛśyante pṛthagvidhāḥ

"A man is surely yoked to what fate has ordained, and all the many kinds of ends are seen to rest on that alone."

Verse 3 (7.24.3)

दीर्घं विप्रोषितः कालमरण्ये जटिलोऽजिनी । अज्ञातश्चैव लोकस्य विजहार युधिष्ठिरः ॥

dīrghaṃ viproṣitaḥ kālamaraṇye jaṭilo'jinī | ajñātaścaiva lokasya vijahāra yudhiṣṭhiraḥ

"For a long time Yudhishthira lived away in the forest, matted-haired, clad in deerskin, unknown to the world."

Verse 4 (7.24.4)

स एव महतीं सेनां समावर्तयदाहवे । किमन्यद्दैवसंयोगान्मम पुत्राभवाय च ॥

sa eva mahatīṃ senāṃ samāvartayadāhave | kimanyaddaivasaṃyogānmama putrābhavāya ca

"That same man has now brought a great army into battle. What is this but fate working for my sons' ruin?"

Verse 5 (7.24.5)

युक्त एव हि भाग्येन ध्रुवमुत्पद्यते नरः । स तथाऽऽकृष्यते तेन न यथा स्वयमिच्छति ॥

yukta eva hi bhāgyena dhruvamutpadyate naraḥ | sa tathā''kṛṣyate tena na yathā svayamicchati

"A man is born yoked to fortune, surely; and he is drawn along by it, not as he himself wishes."

Verse 6 (7.24.6)

द्यूतव्यसनमासाद्य क्लेशितो हि युधिष्ठिरः । स पुनर्भागधेयेन सहायानुपलब्धवान् ॥

dyūtavyasanamāsādya kleśito hi yudhiṣṭhiraḥ | sa punarbhāgadheyena sahāyānupalabdhavān

"Yudhishthira was afflicted by the calamity of dice, yet by good fortune he has won allies again."

Verse 7 (7.24.7)

अर्धं मे केकया लब्धाः काशिकाः कोसलाश्चये । चेदीनां चार्धमपरे मामेव समुपाश्रिताः ॥

ardhaṃ me kekayā labdhāḥ kāśikāḥ kosalāścaye | cedīnāṃ cārdhamapare māmeva samupāśritāḥ

"Half the Kekayas have been gained by me, and the Kashis and the Kosalas, and half the Chedis; the others too have come to me alone for refuge."

Note on the text: Corrected अर्थे → अर्धं (misprint in Wikisource; थ for ध; the next line speaks of "half of the Chedis" and the critical edition reads ardhaṃ). Corrected काशिका → काशिकाः (misprint in Wikisource; visarga dropped; the critical edition reads kāśikāḥ). Corrected मामे व → मामेव (misprint in Wikisource; stray space; the critical edition reads mām eva). Line 2 reads चेदीनां चार्धमपरे where the critical edition has cedayaś cāpare vaṅgāḥ (recension variant, kept).

Verse 8 (7.24.8)

पृथिवी भूयसी तात मम पार्थस्य नो तथा । इति मामब्रवीत्सूत मन्दो दुर्योधनः पुरा ॥

pṛthivī bhūyasī tāta mama pārthasya no tathā | iti māmabravītsūta mando duryodhanaḥ purā

"'The earth is wider on my side, dear, and not so on Partha's': so the foolish Duryodhana once said to me, Sanjaya."

Verse 9 (7.24.9)

तस्य सेनासमूहस्य मध्ये द्रोणः सुरक्षितः । निहतः पार्षतेनाजौ किमन्यद्भागधेयतः ॥

tasya senāsamūhasya madhye droṇaḥ surakṣitaḥ | nihataḥ pārṣatenājau kimanyadbhāgadheyataḥ

"In the midst of his mass of troops, well guarded, Drona was slain in battle by Parshata (Dhrishtadyumna). What is this but fate?"

Verse 10 (7.24.10)

मध्ये राज्ञां महाबाहुं सदा युद्धाभिनन्दिनम् । सर्वास्त्रपारगं द्रोणं कथं मृत्युरुपेयिवान् ॥

madhye rājñāṃ mahābāhuṃ sadā yuddhābhinandinam | sarvāstrapāragaṃ droṇaṃ kathaṃ mṛtyurupeyivān

"How did death come upon mighty-armed Drona, ever delighting in battle, master of all weapons, in the midst of kings?"

Verse 11 (7.24.11)

समनुप्राप्तकृच्छ्रोऽहं मोहं परममागतः । भीष्मद्रोणौ हतौ श्रुत्वा नाहं जीवितुमुत्सहे ॥

samanuprāptakṛcchro'haṃ mohaṃ paramamāgataḥ | bhīṣmadroṇau hatau śrutvā nāhaṃ jīvitumutsahe

"I have fallen into bitter distress and am deeply bewildered. Having heard that Bhishma and Drona are dead, I cannot bear to live."

Verse 12 (7.24.12)

यन्मां क्षत्ताऽब्रवीत्तात प्रपश्यन्पुत्रगृद्धिनम् । दुर्योधनेन तत्सर्वं प्राप्तं सूत मया सह ॥

yanmāṃ kṣattā'bravīttāta prapaśyanputragṛddhinam | duryodhanena tatsarvaṃ prāptaṃ sūta mayā saha

"What Kshattri (Vidura) said to me, my son, when he saw my attachment to my son, all that has come upon Duryodhana, and upon me with him, Sanjaya."

Verse 13 (7.24.13)

नृशंसं तु परं तात त्यक्त्वा दुर्योधनं यदि । पुत्रशेषं चिकीर्षेयं कृत्स्नं न मरणं व्रजेत् ॥

nṛśaṃsaṃ tu paraṃ tāta tyaktvā duryodhanaṃ yadi | putraśeṣaṃ cikīrṣeyaṃ kṛtsnaṃ na maraṇaṃ vrajet

"It would be a very cruel thing, my son, to abandon Duryodhana; yet if I had wished to save what remains of my sons, not all of them would meet death."

Verse 14 (7.24.14)

यो हि धर्मं परित्यज्य भवत्यर्थपरो नरः । सोऽस्माच्च हीयते लोकात्क्षुद्रभावं च गच्छति ॥

yo hi dharmaṃ parityajya bhavatyarthaparo naraḥ | so'smācca hīyate lokātkṣudrabhāvaṃ ca gacchati

"The man who gives up dharma and pursues only wealth falls from this world and comes to a base state."

Verse 15 (7.24.15)

अद्य चाप्यस्य राष्ट्रस्य कृतोच्छेदस्य सञ्जय । अवशेषं न पश्यामि ककुदे मृदिते सति ॥

adya cāpyasya rāṣṭrasya kṛtocchedasya sañjaya | avaśeṣaṃ na paśyāmi kakude mṛdite sati

"Even now, with this kingdom ruined, Sanjaya, I see no remnant left, now that its hump, its chief, has been crushed."

Verse 16 (7.24.16)

कथं स्यादवशेषो हि धुर्ययोरभ्यतीतयोः । यौ नित्यमुपजीवामः क्षमिणौ पुरुषर्षभौ ॥

kathaṃ syādavaśeṣo hi dhuryayorabhyatītayoḥ | yau nityamupajīvāmaḥ kṣamiṇau puruṣarṣabhau

"How can a remnant remain when the two yoke-bearers have passed away, the two forbearing best of men on whom we always lived?"

Verse 17 (7.24.17)

व्यक्तमेव च मे शंस यथा युद्धमवर्तत । केऽयुध्यन्के व्यपाकुर्वन्के क्षुद्राः प्राद्रवन्भयात् ॥

vyaktameva ca me śaṃsa yathā yuddhamavartata | ke'yudhyanke vyapākurvanke kṣudrāḥ prādravanbhayāt

"Tell me plainly how the battle went: who fought, who held back, and which cowards fled in fear."

Verse 18 (7.24.18)

धनञ्जयं च मे शंस यद्यच्चक्रे रथर्षभः । तस्माद्भयं नो भूयिष्ठं भ्रातृव्याच्च वृकोदरात् ॥

dhanañjayaṃ ca me śaṃsa yadyaccakre ratharṣabhaḥ | tasmādbhayaṃ no bhūyiṣṭhaṃ bhrātṛvyācca vṛkodarāt

"And tell me what Dhananjaya did, the foremost of charioteers; for our greatest fear is from him, and above all from my nephew Vrikodara."

Note on the text: Corrected धनुञ्जयं → धनञ्जयं (misprint in Wikisource; ु for न; the critical edition reads dhanaṃjayam).

Verse 19 (7.24.19)

यथाऽसीच्च निवृत्तेषु पाण्डवेयेषु सञ्जय । मम सैन्यावशेषस्य सन्निपातः सुदारुणः ॥

yathā'sīcca nivṛtteṣu pāṇḍaveyeṣu sañjaya | mama sainyāvaśeṣasya sannipātaḥ sudāruṇaḥ

"And how was it, Sanjaya, when the Pandavas turned back, the terrible clash with what was left of my army?"

Note on the text: The automatic alignment found no match because the critical edition prints a three-line verse here: lines 1–2 are its 7.23.19ac (the page reads पाण्डवेयेषु where it reads pāṇḍaveṣu ca).

Verse 20 (7.24.20)

कथं च वो मनस्तात निवृत्तेष्वभवत्तदा । मामकानां च ये शूराः के कांस्तत्र न्यवारयन् ॥

kathaṃ ca vo manastāta nivṛtteṣvabhavattadā | māmakānāṃ ca ye śūrāḥ ke kāṃstatra nyavārayan

"What was the state of your minds then, my son, when they turned back? And which of my warriors checked which of them there?"

Note on the text: Line 1 is the critical edition's star passage 7.23.19d*0172_01 (reading निवृत्तेष्वभवत्तदा for saṃnivṛtteṣv avartata); line 2 is its 7.23.19e.