Shloka 60
भीमसेन-धृष्टद्युम्नयोर्वाक्यं
Bhīmasena and Dhṛṣṭadyumna’s Speeches on Kṣātra-Dharma
तावका: सैनिकाश्नापि मेनिरे निहतं नूपम् । ततो&तिचुक्रुशु: सर्वे ते हाहेति समन््ततः,आपके सैनिकोंने भी राजा दुर्योधनको मरा हुआ ही मान लिया था; अतः वे सब ओर जोर-जोरसे हाहाकार करने लगे
tāvakāḥ sainikāś cāpi menire nihataṃ nṛpam | tato ’ticukruśuḥ sarve te hāheti samantataḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Even your own soldiers concluded that the king had been slain. Therefore, all of them, on every side, burst into loud cries of lamentation—shouting “Alas! Alas!” In the moral atmosphere of the war, this moment shows how quickly fear and grief spread when a leader is believed fallen, and how the fate of one ruler can shake an entire host, loosening resolve and order amid adharma-driven slaughter.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the fragility of morale in war and the ethical weight of leadership: when a ruler is believed fallen, collective fear and sorrow can overwhelm discipline, revealing how attachment to power and persons intensifies suffering amid a conflict already marked by adharma.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Kaurava troops assumed their king (Duryodhana) had been killed, and in response they raised a widespread, loud lament—‘hā hā’—signaling shock and disarray across the battlefield.