Shloka 1963
Droṇasya raudra-prayogaḥ
Droṇa’s intensified assault and the Pāṇḍava response
विशोकाश्वाभवन् सर्वे राजान: कुरुभि: सह । कर्णको देखकर किसीको भी भीष्मजीके मारे जानेका दुःख नहीं रह गया। कौरवोंसहित सब राजा शोकरहित हो गये
sañjaya uvāca | viśokāśvābhavan sarve rājānaḥ kurubhiḥ saha | karṇako dekhara kisīko bhī bhīṣmajīke māre jāne kā duḥkha nahīṃ rah gayā | kauravoṃsahit sab rājā śokarahit ho gaye |
Sañjaya said: All the kings, together with the Kurus, became free from grief. Seeing Karṇa, no one any longer sorrowed over Bhīṣma’s being struck down; with the Kauravas, all the rulers were bereft of lamentation.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how collective emotion in war is shaped by perceived leadership and prospects of victory: reverence and grief for a fallen elder can be rapidly displaced by strategic hope. Ethically, it points to the instability of attachments in conflict and the way ambition can override mourning and gratitude.
Sañjaya reports that after Karṇa becomes prominent (and effectively a new pillar of the Kaurava effort), the Kuru side and allied kings stop grieving for Bhīṣma’s downfall and regain composure—signaling a shift in morale and command dynamics leading into the Drona Parva battles.