Shloka 12
भीमसेन–अलायुधयुद्धम् / Bhīmasena and Alāyudha: Night Engagement and Command Responses
दुर्योधन उवाच पश्य मूर्धाभिषिक्तानामाचार्य कदनं महत् | कृत्वा प्रमुखत: शूरं भीष्मं मम पितामहम्,दुर्योधन बोला--आचार्य! जिनके मस्तकपर विधिपूर्वक राज्याभिषेक किया गया था, उन राजाओंका यह महान् संहार देखिये। मेरे शूरवीर पितामह भीष्मसे लेकर अबतक कितने ही नरेश मारे गये
duryodhana uvāca | paśya mūrdhābhiṣiktānām ācārya kadanaṃ mahat | kṛtvā pramukhataḥ śūraṃ bhīṣmaṃ mama pitāmaham |
Duryodhana said: “O Teacher, behold this great slaughter of kings who had been duly consecrated upon the throne. Making my heroic grandsire Bhīṣma the foremost, so many rulers have been struck down.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the tragic cost of war: even anointed, legitimate rulers (mūrdhābhiṣiktāḥ) are reduced to victims of carnage. It implicitly questions the ethical weight of ambition and conflict, reminding that royal status and ritual legitimacy do not protect one from the consequences of adharma-driven warfare.
Duryodhana addresses his preceptor Droṇa, pointing to the immense battlefield slaughter. He notes that many crowned kings have fallen, with Bhīṣma—his heroic grandsire—having been placed at the forefront earlier, yet even such leading figures and many rulers have been destroyed in the ongoing war.