Shloka 29
Adhyāya 33 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Post-Conflict Remorse and Inquiry on Āśrama Discipline (शोक-विमर्शः, आश्रम-जिज्ञासा)
शालावृका इति ख्यातास्त्रिषु लोकेषु भारत | अष्टाशीतिसहस्राणि ते चापि विबुधैर्हता:
śālāvṛkā iti khyātās triṣu lokeṣu bhārata | aṣṭāśīti-sahasrāṇi te cāpi vibudhair hatāḥ ||
भारत! वे तीनों लोकों में ‘शालावृक’ नाम से प्रसिद्ध थे; उन अट्ठासी हजारों को भी देवताओं ने मार डाला।
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Learning and Vedic mastery do not safeguard one who is overcome by pride; when knowledge is yoked to adharma—such as supporting destructive forces like the Dānavas—it leads to downfall and invites divine punishment.
Vyāsa recounts that a group known across the three worlds as the Śālāvṛkas—numbering eighty-eight thousand—were killed by the gods, because they had taken the side of the Dānavas, despite being learned.