Shloka 39
मातापितृपूजन-प्रधानधर्मः (Primacy of Filial Service) — Mārkaṇḍeya’s Account of the Vyādha’s Instruction
देवा महर्षयश्लापि स्वानि स्थानानि भेजिरे | तस्य पुत्रास्त्रय: शिष्टा युधिष्ठिर तदाभवन्,युधिष्ठिर! इसके बाद देवता और महर्षि अपने-अपने स्थानको चले गये। उस युद्धमें राजा कुवलाश्चके तीन ही पुत्र शेष रह गये थे
devā maharṣayaś cāpi svāni sthānāni bhejire | tasya putrās trayaḥ śiṣṭā yudhiṣṭhira tadābhavan |
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “Then the gods and the great seers returned to their respective abodes. O Yudhiṣṭhira, in that battle only three sons of that king remained alive.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the stark residue of war: even when divine and sage observers withdraw, the consequences remain with mortals—survival is reduced to a few, and the burden of continuing dharma and lineage falls upon those who are left.
Mārkaṇḍeya concludes a battle episode by stating that the gods and great seers departed to their own realms, and that only three sons of the king in question were left alive after the fighting.