Shloka 25
Rudra’s Omitted Share in the Yajña (रुद्रभागानुपपत्तिः — यज्ञोपाख्यानम्)
ततस्ते निहता: सर्वे तव पुत्रा महारथा: । अन्ये च बहव: शूरा: पाउ्चालस्य पदानुगा:,इसीलिये उसने आपके सभी महारथी पुत्रों तथा पांचालराजका अनुसरण करनेवाले अन्य बहुत-से शूरवीरोंका वध किया है
tataste nihatāḥ sarve tava putrā mahārathāḥ | anye ca bahavaḥ śūrāḥ pāñcālasya padānugāḥ ||
Then all those mighty chariot-warriors—your sons—were slain; and many other heroes too, who had followed in the wake of the king of the Pāñcālas.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the catastrophic ethical consequence of violence that abandons the norms of righteous combat: the destruction of heirs and allies brings not victory but intensified sorrow and moral stain, showing how adharma multiplies suffering even after the war’s outcome is decided.
Vaiśampāyana reports to the listener that all of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s mighty warrior-sons have been killed, along with many other brave fighters aligned with the Pāñcāla side—an update situated in the aftermath of the nocturnal killings described in the Sauptika Parva.