Shloka 16
Karṇa-nidhana-śravaṇa, Kṣaya-Varṇana, and Śeṣa-sainika-nirdeśa
Hearing of Karṇa’s Fall, Accounting of Losses, and Naming of Remaining Warriors
विह्वल: पतितो भूमौ नष्टचेता इव द्विप: । वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--महाराज! यह सुनकर अम्बिकानन्दन धृतराष्ट्रने यह मान लिया कि अब दुर्योधन भी मारा ही गया। उन्हें अपने शोकका कहीं अन्त नहीं दिखायी देता था। वे अचेत हुए हाथीके समान व्याकुल होकर पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़े
vihvalaḥ patito bhūmau naṣṭacetā iva dvipaḥ |
قال فيشَمبايانا: وقد غلبته الدهشة واضطربت قواه، سقط على الأرض—كفيلٍ فقد وعيه.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how intense sorrow and attachment can overwhelm reason and self-mastery; in the ethical world of the Mahābhārata, unchecked passions (śoka, moha) can incapacitate even the powerful, showing the need for steadiness (dhairya) and discernment (viveka) amid calamity.
Vaiśampāyana describes a person—contextually, the bereaved king—collapsing to the earth in a state of shock, compared to a senseless elephant, signaling the devastating impact of the war’s news and the breaking point of endurance.