Shloka 28
गदायुद्ध-समारम्भः
Commencement of the Mace-Duel Proceedings
अहतांस्तु महाबाहो शृणु मे तत्र माधव
ahatāṁs tu mahābāho śṛṇu me tatra mādhava | mahābāhu mādhava! ye tatra na hatāḥ, teṣāṁ nāmāni api mattaḥ śṛṇu | duryodhanasya senāyāṁ kṛpācāryaḥ kṛtavarmā ca parākramī droṇaputra aśvatthāmā—ete śatrudalamarḍanāḥ traya eva vīrāḥ śeṣāḥ ||
Narada berkata: “Wahai Mādhava yang berlengan perkasa, dengarkan dariku juga tentang mereka yang tidak gugur di sana; dengarkan nama-nama mereka. Dalam bala Duryodhana, hanya tiga kesatria yang tersisa—Kṛpācārya, Kṛtavarmā, dan Aśvatthāmā putra Droṇa yang gagah—para penghancur barisan musuh.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the stark moral and existential residue of war: after vast destruction, only a few remain, and their survival becomes ethically weighty because what they choose next can either deepen violence or restore restraint. It highlights how outcomes of conflict are not only about victory but about the character and responsibility of those left standing.
Nārada informs Kṛṣṇa (Mādhava) about the warriors who were not killed in the great battle. He names the three remaining champions on Duryodhana’s side—Kṛpa, Kṛtavarmā, and Aśvatthāmā—marking the near-total collapse of the Kaurava host and setting the stage for the consequences driven by these survivors.