Shloka 29
Adhyāya 33 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Post-Conflict Remorse and Inquiry on Āśrama Discipline (शोक-विमर्शः, आश्रम-जिज्ञासा)
शालावृका इति ख्यातास्त्रिषु लोकेषु भारत | अष्टाशीतिसहस्राणि ते चापि विबुधैर्हता:
śālāvṛkā iti khyātās triṣu lokeṣu bhārata | aṣṭāśīti-sahasrāṇi te cāpi vibudhair hatāḥ ||
Vyāsa said: “O Bhārata, they were famed throughout the three worlds as the Śālāvṛkas. Eighty-eight thousand of them, too, were slain by the gods—learned men who, though versed in the Vedas, were deluded by pride and had aligned themselves with the Dānavas.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Learning and Vedic mastery do not safeguard one who is overcome by pride; when knowledge is yoked to adharma—such as supporting destructive forces like the Dānavas—it leads to downfall and invites divine punishment.
Vyāsa recounts that a group known across the three worlds as the Śālāvṛkas—numbering eighty-eight thousand—were killed by the gods, because they had taken the side of the Dānavas, despite being learned.