Shloka 23
Karṇa-vadha-pratyaya: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Verification of Karṇa’s Fall (कर्णवध-प्रत्ययः)
युक्त्वा स्वर्गयशो भ्यां च स्वेभ्यो मुदमुदावहत् । वह सहसों शत्रुओंको वस्त्र, आयुध शरीर और प्राणोंसे शून्य करके उन्हें स्वर्ग और सुयशसे संयुक्त करता हुआ आत्मीयजनोंको आनन्द प्रदान करने लगा ।। एवं मारिष संग्रामो नरवाजिगजक्षय: । कुरूणां सृज्जयानां च देवासुरसमो5भवत्,मान्यवर! इस प्रकार मनुष्यों, घोड़ों और हाथियोंका विनाश करनेवाला वह कौरवों तथा सूंजयोंका युद्ध देवासुर-संग्रामके समान भयंकर था
sañjaya uvāca | yuktvā svargayaśobhyāṃ ca svebhyo mudam udāvahat | sa ha sahasāṃ śatrūn ko vastra-āyudha-śarīra-prāṇaiḥ śūnyaṃ kṛtvā tān svarga-suyaśobhyāṃ saṃyojayann ātmīyajanān ānandaṃ pradadāti sma || evaṃ māriṣa saṃgrāmo nara-vāji-gaja-kṣayaḥ | kurūṇāṃ sṛñjayānāṃ ca devāsura-samo 'bhavat mānyavara ||
Sañjaya said: “Uniting them with heaven and with lasting fame, he brought joy to his own. Swiftly stripping the enemies of garments, weapons, bodies, and even life-breath, he sent them on to heaven and renown, while giving delight to his kinsmen. Thus, O venerable one, that battle—destroying men, horses, and elephants—between the Kurus and the Sṛñjayas became as dreadful as the war of gods and demons.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the epic’s tension between martial glory and human cost: a warrior’s deeds are framed as granting ‘heaven and fame’ while simultaneously emphasizing the brutal reality—enemies are deprived of body and life. It invites reflection on how dharma-language can sanctify violence, even as the narrative does not hide its devastation.
Sañjaya describes the ferocity of the ongoing battle: one side’s champion rapidly slaughters foes, bringing joy to his own camp, and the overall conflict between the Kurus and the Sṛñjayas becomes comparable in terror to the mythic war between gods and demons, with massive losses of men, horses, and elephants.