Shloka 13
Karṇa-nidhana-śravaṇa, Kṣaya-Varṇana, and Śeṣa-sainika-nirdeśa
Hearing of Karṇa’s Fall, Accounting of Losses, and Naming of Remaining Warriors
यत् त्वया कथितं वाक््यं श्रुतं संजय तन््मया । कच्चिद् दुर्योधन: सूत न गतो वै यमक्षयम्,“संजय! तुमने जो बात कही है, वह तो मैंने सुन ली, किंतु एक बात बताओ। निरन्तर विजयकी इच्छा रखनेवाला मेरा पुत्र दुर्योधन अपनी विजयसे निराश हो कहीं यमराजके लोकमें तो नहीं चला गया? संजय! तुम इस कही हुई बातको भी फिर यथार्थरूपसे कह सुनाओ'
yat tvayā kathitaṃ vākyaṃ śrutaṃ sañjaya tanmayā | kaccid duryodhanaḥ sūta na gato vai yamakṣayam ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “Sañjaya, I have heard the words you spoke. But tell me this: has Duryodhana—ever intent on victory—fallen into despair and gone to Yama’s imperishable realm (that is, met death)? Sañjaya, recount again, truthfully and in full, what you have said.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical demand for truthful reporting in times of crisis and the human cost of war: anxiety for loved ones, fear of death, and the way attachment to victory can collapse into despair.
After hearing Sañjaya’s report, the listener (contextually Dhṛtarāṣṭra, as conveyed by Vaiśaṃpāyana) anxiously asks whether Duryodhana has died—‘gone to Yama’s realm’—and urges Sañjaya to repeat the account accurately.