Shloka 13
Karṇa-nidhana-śravaṇa, Kṣaya-Varṇana, and Śeṣa-sainika-nirdeśa
Hearing of Karṇa’s Fall, Accounting of Losses, and Naming of Remaining Warriors
यत् त्वया कथितं वाक््यं श्रुतं संजय तन््मया । कच्चिद् दुर्योधन: सूत न गतो वै यमक्षयम्
yat tvayā kathitaṃ vākyaṃ śrutaṃ sañjaya tanmayā | kaccid duryodhanaḥ sūta na gato vai yamakṣayam ||
Dijo Vaiśaṃpāyana: “Sañjaya, he escuchado las palabras que has dicho. Pero dime esto: ¿acaso Duryodhana—siempre ansioso de victoria—ha caído en la desesperanza y ha ido al reino imperecedero de Yama (es decir, ha muerto)? Sañjaya, vuelve a relatar, con verdad y por entero, lo que has contado.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical demand for truthful reporting in times of crisis and the human cost of war: anxiety for loved ones, fear of death, and the way attachment to victory can collapse into despair.
After hearing Sañjaya’s report, the listener (contextually Dhṛtarāṣṭra, as conveyed by Vaiśaṃpāyana) anxiously asks whether Duryodhana has died—‘gone to Yama’s realm’—and urges Sañjaya to repeat the account accurately.