Shloka 36
शल्यपर्वणि प्रथमाध्यायः — Karṇa-vadha-anantaraṃ Śalya-niyogaḥ, Saṃjayasya Dhṛtarāṣṭra-nivedanam
ते चैव भ्रातर: पञ्च वासुदेवो5थ सात्यकि: । कृपश्च कृतवर्मा च द्रौणिश्व जयतां वर:,“उधर पाँचों भाई पाण्डव, वसुदेवनन्दन भगवान् श्रीकृष्ण और सात्यकि शेष हैं तथा इधर कृपाचार्य, कृतवर्मा और विजयी वीरोंमें श्रेष्ठ अश्वत्थामा जीवित हैं
te caiva bhrātaraḥ pañca vāsudevo ’tha sātyakiḥ | kṛpaś ca kṛtavarmā ca drauṇiś ca jayatāṃ varaḥ ||
Di pihak itu, kelima saudara Pāṇḍava bersama Vāsudeva (Śrī Kṛṣṇa) dan Sātyaki masih tersisa; sedangkan di pihak ini, Kṛpa, Kṛtavarmā, dan putra Droṇa, Aśvatthāmā—yang utama di antara para kesatria pemenang—masih hidup.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war reduces vast armies to a handful of survivors, intensifying moral accountability. Survival is not merely a fact of victory; it carries dharmic responsibility for what follows—restraint, right judgment, and the handling of vengeance and grief in the war’s aftermath.
Vaiśaṃpāyana enumerates who remains alive on each side at this stage: the Pāṇḍavas with Kṛṣṇa and Sātyaki, and on the opposing side Kṛpa, Kṛtavarmā, and Aśvatthāmā. This sets the scene for the concluding events of the war and the actions of the remaining Kaurava-aligned warriors.