Shloka 3
त्वरिता जवनैरश्वैरायोधनमुपागमन् । संजय कहते हैं--राजन! संदेशवाहकोंके मुखसे दुर्योधनके मारे जानेका समाचार सुनकर मरनेसे बचे हुए कौरव महारथी अश्वत्थामा
sañjaya uvāca | tvaritā javanair aśvair āyodhanam upāgaman | tatrāpaśyan mahātmānaṃ dhārtarāṣṭraṃ nipātitam |
Sanjaya said: O King, when the surviving Kaurava great warriors—Aśvatthāmā, Kṛpa, and Kṛtavarmā of the Sātvata line—heard from the messengers that Duryodhana had been struck down, they, though themselves badly wounded by the blows of sharp arrows, maces, spears, and javelins, swiftly mounted chariots yoked with fast horses and hurried to the battlefield. Arriving there, they saw the high-souled son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra lying felled—like a mighty śāla tree in the forest snapped and thrown down by the force of the wind—blood-soaked and writhing upon the earth, like a huge elephant brought down by a hunter in the wild. The scene underscores the grim moral aftermath of war: even the mightiest fall, and the survivors are driven onward by loyalty, grief, and vengeance rather than by dharma’s calm restraint.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the ethical cost of war: victory and defeat alike culminate in suffering, and even those called ‘great-souled’ can be brought low. It also shows how attachment—loyalty to one’s side and the pull of vengeance—can propel survivors forward even when dharma would counsel restraint and reflection.
After hearing from messengers that Duryodhana has been struck down, the remaining Kaurava leaders—Aśvatthāmā, Kṛpa, and Kṛtavarmā—rush by chariot to the battlefield. There they see Duryodhana lying felled and bleeding, compared to a great tree broken by wind and a huge elephant killed by a hunter.