Shloka 18
भीमसेन–अलायुधयुद्धम् / Bhīmasena and Alāyudha: Night Engagement and Command Responses
मम लुब्धस्य पापस्य तथा धर्मापचायिन: । व्यायामेन जिगीषन्त: प्राप्ता वैवस्वतक्षयम्,हाय! मुझ लोभी तथा धर्मनाशक पापीके लिये युद्धके द्वारा विजय चाहनेवाले मेरे मित्रगण यमलोक चले गये
mama lubdhasya pāpasya tathā dharmāpacāyinaḥ | vyāyāmena jigīṣantaḥ prāptā vaivasvatakṣayam, hāya! |
“Alas! Because of me—greedy, sinful, and a destroyer of dharma—my friends, striving through the exertion of battle to win victory, have reached the abode of Vaivasvata (Yama), the realm of death.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights moral accountability in leadership: when a ruler acts from greed and adharma, the consequences fall not only on himself but also on those who follow him. Victory-seeking effort in an unrighteous cause culminates in destruction, underscoring the Mahabharata’s ethic that dharma is the true safeguard.
Duryodhana grieves after heavy losses in the war. He blames himself—calling himself greedy and sinful—and laments that his companions, who fought striving for his victory, have gone to Yama’s realm (i.e., have died).