Shloka 49
अध्याय ९ — दुर्योधनस्य अन्त्यावस्था, विलापः, तथा सौप्तिक-प्रतिवृत्तम्
Duryodhana’s Final Condition, Lamentation, and the Night’s Report
*राजा दुर्योधन! यदि आप जीवित हों तो यह कानोंको सुख देनेवाली बात सुनें। पाण्डवपक्षमें केवल सात और कौरवपक्षमें सिर्फ हम तीन ही व्यक्ति बच गये हैं ।। ते चैव भ्रातर: पञ्च वासुदेवो5थ सात्यकि: । अहं च कृतवर्मा च कृप: शारद्वतस्तथा,“उधर तो पाँचों भाई पाण्डव, श्रीकृष्ण और सात्यकि बचे हैं और इधर मैं, कृतवर्मा तथा शरद्वानके पुत्र कृपाचार्य शेष रह गये हैं
te caiva bhrātaraḥ pañca vāsudevo 'tha sātyakiḥ | ahaṃ ca kṛtavarmā ca kṛpaḥ śāradvatastathā ||
Sañjaya reports the grim remainder after the slaughter: on the Pāṇḍava side only the five brothers survive, along with Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa) and Sātyaki; on the Kaurava side only three remain—Sañjaya himself, Kṛtavarmā, and Kṛpa, the son of Śaradvat. The verse lays bare the war’s moral desolation: victory and defeat alike are hollow when nearly all are destroyed, leaving only a few witnesses to bear the weight of what has been done.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral emptiness of total war: when almost everyone is slain, the remaining few—regardless of side—must confront the ethical weight of destruction, showing that mere survival is not the same as righteous gain.
In the Sauptika Parva’s aftermath, Sañjaya enumerates who is left alive: seven on the Pāṇḍava side (the five brothers, Kṛṣṇa, and Sātyaki) and three on the Kaurava side (Sañjaya, Kṛtavarmā, and Kṛpa).