Shloka 24
भीमसेन–अलायुधयुद्धम् / Bhīmasena and Alāyudha: Night Engagement and Command Responses
व्यायच्छन्तो हता: शूरा मदर्थे येडपराड्मुखा: । यतमाना: परं शक्त्या विजेतुमहितान् मम,शत्रुओंके संताप देनेवाले आचार्य! जो युद्धसे विमुख न होनेवाले शूरवीर सुहृद् मेरे लिये जूझते और मेरे शत्रुओंको जीतनेके लिये यथाशक्ति पूरी चेष्टा करते हुए मारे गये हैं, उनका अपनी शक्तिभर ऋण उतारकर आज मैं यमुनाके जलसे उन सभीका तर्पण करूँगा
duryodhana uvāca | vyāyacchanto hatāḥ śūrā madarthe ye ’parāṅmukhāḥ | yatamānāḥ paraṃ śaktyā vijetum ahitān mama ||
Duryodhana said: “Those heroic men who never turned away—who strove and exerted themselves for my sake—have been slain while doing all they could to overcome my enemies. O Ācārya, who burn my foes with your prowess, today I shall repay my debt to them to the full of my ability by offering them libations with the waters of the Yamunā.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral weight of obligation: a leader benefits from others’ sacrifices and therefore bears a debt (ṛṇa) toward them. Duryodhana frames remembrance and ritual offering (tarpaṇa) as a way to acknowledge and repay, at least symbolically, the cost borne by loyal warriors.
In the midst of the war, Duryodhana addresses the Ācārya (Droṇa), recalling the brave allies who died fighting for him without retreat. He declares his intention to perform tarpaṇa using the waters of the Yamunā, honoring the fallen and expressing his sense of indebtedness to them.