Shloka 33
कर्णनिधनश्रवणम् — Hearing of Karṇa’s Fall and Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament
उभौ कलिड्गवृषकौ भ्रातरौ युद्धदुर्मदौ । कृत्वा चासुकरं कर्म गतौ वैवस्वतक्षयम्
ubhau kaliṅgavṛṣakau bhrātarau yuddha-durmadau | kṛtvā cāsukaraṃ karma gatau vaivasvata-kṣayam ||
Sañjaya said: Both brothers, Kaliṅga and Vṛṣaka—made arrogant by the frenzy of battle—performed a deed that was hard to accomplish, and then went to the abode of Vaivasvata (Yama), i.e., met their death. The verse underscores how martial prowess and daring action, when driven by war-pride, culminate in mortality and the inescapable moral horizon of death.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even extraordinary martial deeds do not transcend mortality; when valor is mixed with battle-intoxication (yuddha-durmada), it still ends in death and accountability under the cosmic order symbolized by Vaivasvata (Yama).
Sañjaya reports that the two brothers, Kaliṅga and Vṛṣaka, carried out a difficult feat in the fighting and were then slain—described poetically as departing to Yama’s abode.