Mahabharata — Ashvamedhika Parva, Shloka 1736
Kṛṣṇa’s Departure, Auspicious Omens, and the Opening of the Uttaṅka Dialogue (कृष्णप्रयाण-निमित्त-उत्तङ्कसंवाद-प्रारम्भः)
यत्पापो निहत: संख्ये कौरव्यो धृतराष्ट्रज: । “हमलोगोंका प्रिय करनेकी इच्छासे आपने यह अत्यन्त अदभुत कार्य किया कि धृतराष्ट्रके पुत्र कुरुकुलकलंक पापी दुर्योधनको (भैया भीमके द्वारा) युद्धमें मरवा डाला
yatpāpo nihataḥ saṅkhye kauravyo dhṛtarāṣṭrajaḥ |
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “That sinful Kaurava, the son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, has been slain in battle. With the wish to do what was dear to us, you accomplished this most extraordinary deed—having the disgrace of the Kuru line, the wicked Duryodhana, killed in the war (by Bhīma).”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames Duryodhana’s death as the fall of a sinful, lineage-disgracing ruler, suggesting an ethical logic of war where adharma culminates in deserved destruction, and where the restoration of order is seen as a difficult but necessary act.
Vaiśaṃpāyana reports that Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son Duryodhana has been killed in battle, praising the deed as extraordinary and attributing it to the intention of doing what was dear to their side—specifically noting Bhīma as the agent of Duryodhana’s death.