Shloka 26
गदायुद्ध-समारम्भः
Commencement of the Mace-Duel Proceedings
हतो वैकर्तन: कर्ण: पुत्राश्नास्य महारथा: । भूरिश्रवा रौहिणेय मद्रराजश्न वीर्यवान्
hato vaikartanaḥ karṇaḥ putrāś cāsya mahārathāḥ | bhūriśravā rauhiṇeyo madrarājaś ca vīryavān ||
Nārada dit : «Karna, le Vaikartana, a été tué, et ses fils aussi, ces grands guerriers de char. Bhūriśravas est tombé, Rauhiṇeya (Sātyaki) également, ainsi que le vaillant roi de Madra.»
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the sweeping devastation of war: celebrated warriors and royal houses fall alike. It implicitly warns that martial glory is transient and that large-scale conflict, especially when driven by adharma and vengeance, culminates in irreversible loss.
Nārada reports key deaths among major combatants: Karṇa and his sons, Bhūriśravas, Rauhiṇeya (Sātyaki), and the Madra king (Śalya). It functions as a grim tally of fallen heroes in the late stages of the Kurukṣetra war.