Shloka 3
Duryodhana’s Post-Duel Lament and Instructions (भग्नसक्थस्य विलापः)
निहतेषु तु योधेषु हते दुर्योधने तदा । पृथिव्यां पाण्डवेयस्य नि:सपत्ने कृते युधि,ब्रह्मन! जब युद्धमें सारे योद्धा मारे गये, दुर्योधनका भी अन्त हो गया, भूमण्डलमें पाण्डुपुत्र युधिष्ठिरके शत्रुओंका सर्वथा अभाव हो गया, कौरवदलके लोग शिविरको सूना करके भाग गये और पाण्डवोंको उत्तम यशकी प्राप्ति हो गयी, तब कौन-सा ऐसा कारण आ गया, जिससे श्रीकृष्ण पुन: हस्तिनापुरमें गये?
nihateṣu tu yodheṣu hate duryodhane tadā | pṛthivyāṃ pāṇḍaveyasya niḥsapatne kṛte yudhi ||
Janamejaya said: “When the warriors had been slain, and Duryodhana too had fallen; when, in that war, the earth had become free of rivals for the son of Pāṇḍu (Yudhiṣṭhira)—what circumstance then arose that led Śrī Kṛṣṇa to go once more to Hastināpura?”
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even after victory and the removal of external enemies, dharma requires restoring order through counsel, governance, and reconciliation. Janamejaya’s question highlights that the end of battle is not the end of responsibility; Kṛṣṇa’s return suggests unfinished ethical and political duties in the post-war settlement.
Janamejaya summarizes the war’s conclusion—warriors slain, Duryodhana dead, Yudhiṣṭhira left without rivals—and asks why Kṛṣṇa went again to Hastināpura. The verse functions as a transition into explaining post-war events and decisions at the Kuru capital.