Shloka 203
शल्यपर्वणि प्रथमाध्यायः — Karṇa-vadha-anantaraṃ Śalya-niyogaḥ, Saṃjayasya Dhṛtarāṣṭra-nivedanam
नष्टचित्तानिवोन्मत्तानू शोकेन भृशपीडितान् । हमलोगोंने देखा कि वे नगरके श्रेष्ठ पुरुष अचेत और उन्मत्त-से होकर शोकसे अत्यन्त पीड़ित हो वहाँ दौड़ रहे हैं
naṣṭacittān ivonmattānū śokena bhṛśapīḍitān |
Vaiśampāyana said: We saw the foremost men of the city, their minds as if lost and their conduct like the delirious, grievously tormented by sorrow, rushing about there. The scene shows how collective grief can unseat reason and dignity, revealing the human cost that follows the devastation of war.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical and psychological fallout of violence: even the most respected citizens can be overwhelmed by grief, showing that war’s consequences extend beyond the battlefield into the collapse of social composure and mental steadiness.
The narrator reports witnessing the city’s foremost men running about in extreme distress—appearing senseless and delirious—because they are crushed by sorrow in the wake of catastrophic events.