Shloka 32
भीमकर्णसमागमः | Bhīma–Karṇa Encounter
उन दोनोंको हर्षोल्लाससे परिपूर्ण देख सम्पूर्ण कौरव-सैनिक आपके पुत्रके जीवनसे निराश हो गये ।। शोकमापु: परे चैव कुरव: सर्व एव ते । अमन्यन्त च पुत्र ते वैश्वानरमुखे हुतम्,अन्य सब कौरव भी शोकमग्न हो गये और आपके पुत्रको आगके मुखमें होम दिया गया--ऐसा मानने लगे
sañjaya uvāca | śokam āpuḥ pare caiva kuravaḥ sarva eva te | amanyanta ca putraṁ te vaiśvānaramukhe hutam ||
Sañjaya said: All those Kurus on the other side were seized by grief. They concluded that your son had been offered into the mouth of Vaiśvānara—consumed by fire—thus losing hope for his life amid the turmoil of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how quickly perception and morale collapse in war: fear and grief lead people to treat uncertain reports as certainty, showing the ethical and psychological cost of conflict—where rumor and despair can be as destructive as weapons.
Seeing the opposing pair exultant, the Kaurava forces fall into mourning and assume that Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son (Duryodhana) has been destroyed—figuratively described as being offered into the mouth of fire (Vaiśvānara).