Shloka 14
राजपुत्रसहसे द्वे वीरांश्वालक्षितान् बहून् । बृहद्धलं च राजानं स्वर्गेणाजौ प्रयोज्य ह
rājaputra-sahase dve vīrān śvālakitān bahūn | bṛhaddhalaṃ ca rājānaṃ svargeṇājau prayojya ha ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “In the battle, he dispatched to heaven two thousands of princes, many other unrecognized heroes as well, and also King Bṛhaddhala.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s war-ethic that death in righteous battle is framed as “going to heaven,” while also hinting at the moral weight of mass killing—named and unnamed—within kṣatriya duty.
Yudhiṣṭhira reports the scale of slaughter in the fighting: two thousand princes, many other unidentified warriors, and King Bṛhaddhala are said to have been sent to heaven (i.e., killed) in the battle.