Shloka 31
अध्याय ९ — धृतराष्ट्रस्य युधिष्ठिरं प्रति राजनित्युपदेशः
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Counsel on Royal Policy to Yudhiṣṭhira
युयुधानेन वीरेण धृष्टद्युम्नेन चैव ह । चतुर्भि: पाण्डुपुत्रैश्न भीमार्जुनयमैस्तथा
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
yuyudhānena vīreṇa dhṛṣṭadyumnena caiva ha |
catūrbhiḥ pāṇḍuputraiś ca bhīmārjunayamaiḥ tathā ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana dit : «Par le vaillant Yuyudhāna (Sātyaki) et par Dhṛṣṭadyumna, et de même par les quatre fils de Pāṇḍu—Bhīma, Arjuna et les jumeaux (Nakula et Sahadeva)—s’accomplit le grand carnage de cette guerre.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions as a moral recollection: even immense military power collapses quickly when war is unleashed. It highlights the ethical weight of kṣatriya action—heroism and duty on the battlefield—while implicitly warning that adharma-driven conflict leads to rapid, total destruction.
Vaiśampāyana is summarizing the principal agents of destruction in the Kurukṣetra war: Sātyaki, Dhṛṣṭadyumna, and the four Pāṇḍava brothers (Bhīma, Arjuna, Nakula, Sahadeva). In the surrounding account (as reflected in the received Gītā Press context), this is tied to the broader remembrance that vast armies and famed champions were annihilated within eighteen days.