Shloka 31
युयुधानेन वीरेण धृष्टद्युम्नेन चैव ह । चतुर्भि: पाण्डुपुत्रैश्न भीमार्जुनयमैस्तथा,“महाराज! उस युद्धमें अठारह अक्षौहिणी सेनाएँ एकत्र हुई थीं; किंतु कौरवपक्षके प्रधान योद्धा भीष्म, द्रोण, कृपाचार्य आदि तथा महामना कर्णने एवं पाण्डवदलके प्रमुख वीर सात्यकि, धृष्टद्युम्न, भीमसेन, अर्जुन, नकुल और सहदेव आदिने अठारह दिनोंमें ही सबका संहार कर डाला”
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
yuyudhānena vīreṇa dhṛṣṭadyumnena caiva ha |
catūrbhiḥ pāṇḍuputraiś ca bhīmārjunayamaiḥ tathā ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “By the valiant Yuyudhāna (Sātyaki) and by Dhṛṣṭadyumna indeed, and likewise by the four sons of Pāṇḍu—Bhīma, Arjuna, and the twins (Nakula and Sahadeva)—the great slaughter of that war was brought about.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions as a moral recollection: even immense military power collapses quickly when war is unleashed. It highlights the ethical weight of kṣatriya action—heroism and duty on the battlefield—while implicitly warning that adharma-driven conflict leads to rapid, total destruction.
Vaiśampāyana is summarizing the principal agents of destruction in the Kurukṣetra war: Sātyaki, Dhṛṣṭadyumna, and the four Pāṇḍava brothers (Bhīma, Arjuna, Nakula, Sahadeva). In the surrounding account (as reflected in the received Gītā Press context), this is tied to the broader remembrance that vast armies and famed champions were annihilated within eighteen days.