Shloka 20
शल्यपर्वणि प्रथमाध्यायः — Karṇa-vadha-anantaraṃ Śalya-niyogaḥ, Saṃjayasya Dhṛtarāṣṭra-nivedanam
आर्तनादं ततश्षक्रे श्रुव्वा विनिहतं नूपम् राजन! नृपश्रेष्ठ! हस्तिनापुरके सभी लोग संजयको सर्वथा महान् क्लेशसे युक्त देखकर अत्यन्त उद्विग्न हो “हा राजन्!' ऐसा कहते हुए फ़ूट-फ़ूटकर रोने लगे। नरव्याप्र! वहाँ चारों ओर बच्चोंसे लेकर बूढ़ोंतक सब लोग राजाको मारा गया सुन आर्तनाद करने लगे || १८-१९ $ || धावतश्चाप्यपश्यामस्तत्र तान् पुरुषर्षभान्
ārtanādaṃ tataḥ śakre śrutvā vinihataṃ nṛpam, rājan nṛpaśreṣṭha hastināpurake sabhī lokāḥ sañjayaṃ sarvathā mahān kleśa-yuktaṃ dṛṣṭvā atyantaṃ udvignāḥ “hā rājan!” iti vadantaḥ phūṭ-phūṭkar rorūyuḥ. naravyāghra! tatra caturdiśaṃ bālakebhyaḥ ārabhya vṛddhāntam sarve lokāḥ rājā hata iti śrutvā ārtanādaṃ cakruḥ. dhāvataś cāpy apaśyāmaḥ tatra tān puruṣarṣabhān.
Vaiśampāyana said: Hearing the anguished outcry that the king had been slain, O Indra among kings, O best of rulers, all the people in Hastināpura—seeing Sañjaya utterly overwhelmed by great distress—became deeply shaken and, crying “Alas, O King!”, broke down in bitter weeping. O tiger among men, throughout the city, from children up to the aged, everyone, on hearing that the king had been killed, raised a wail of lamentation. And as they ran about, we also saw there those bull-like heroes.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the social and ethical aftermath of war: the death of a ruler is not a private loss but a collective wound. It underscores how violence reverberates through an entire community—children, elders, and courtiers alike—revealing the heavy human cost that accompanies political ambition and battlefield success.
News spreads in Hastināpura that the king has been killed. Seeing Sañjaya crushed by sorrow, the citizens become terrified and grief-stricken, crying out and weeping loudly across the city. Amid the commotion, people run about, and the narrator notes seeing prominent heroes there as well.