Arjuna’s Lament, the End of the Yadus, and the Pāṇḍavas’ Departure
राजंस्त्वयानुपृष्टानां सुहृदां न: सुहृत्पुरे । विप्रशापविमूढानां निघ्नतां मुष्टिभिर्मिथ: ॥ २२ ॥ वारुणीं मदिरां पीत्वा मदोन्मथितचेतसाम् । अजानतामिवान्योन्यं चतु:पञ्चावशेषिता: ॥ २३ ॥
rājaṁs tvayānupṛṣṭānāṁ suhṛdāṁ naḥ suhṛt-pure vipra-śāpa-vimūḍhānāṁ nighnatāṁ muṣṭibhir mithaḥ
O King, since you have asked me about our friends and relatives in the city of Dvārakā, I will inform you that all of them were cursed by the brāhmaṇas, and as a result they all became intoxicated with wine made of putrefied rice and fought among themselves with sticks, not even recognizing one another. Now all but four or five of them are dead and gone.
It states that the Yadavas, bewildered due to a brāhmaṇa’s curse, ended up striking and killing one another in Dvārakā.
Because Parīkṣit asked about the fate of the Lord’s associates in Dvārakā, and the curse explains the immediate cause behind their mutual destruction.
It cautions that arrogance and offense toward saintly persons can cloud judgment and lead even strong communities into self-destruction.