ततो5पलायन्त विहाय कर्ण तवात्मजा: कुरवो ये5वशिष्टा: । हतानपाकीर्य शरक्षतांश्न लालप्यमानांस्तनयान् पितृश्च
tato 'palāyanta vihāya karṇa tavātmajāḥ kuravo ye 'vaśiṣṭāḥ | hatān apākīrya śarakṣatāṃś ca lālapyamānāṃs tanayān pitṝṃś ca ||
Sañjaya dit : Alors les Kuru restants—tes fils—prirent la fuite, abandonnant Karṇa. Laissant derrière eux les morts épars, et eux-mêmes blessés par les flèches, ils coururent en gémissant de douleur, appelant leurs fils et leurs pères.
संजय उवाच
The verse highlights the human and ethical aftermath of war: when a cause is sustained by adharma and pride, defeat brings not only tactical loss but a collapse into fear and lamentation. It also shows how, amid violence, the deepest cries return to family—sons and fathers—revealing the cost borne by lineages.
After Karṇa is abandoned or has fallen from effective command, the remaining Kuru fighters—identified as Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons and their side—panic and flee. They leave the battlefield strewn with the dead, while they themselves are wounded by arrows and cry out in grief for their kin.