Shloka 459
कर्णनिधनश्रवणम् — Hearing of Karṇa’s Fall and Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament
मालव, मद्रक, भयंकर कर्म करनेवाले द्राविड, यौधेय, ललित्थ, क्षुद्रक, उशीनर, मावेल्लक, तुण्डिकेर, सावित्रीपुत्र, प्राच्य, उदीच्य, प्रतीच्य और दाक्षिणात्य, पैदलसमूह, दस लाख घोड़े, रथोंके समूह और बड़े-बड़े गजराज अर्जुनके हाथसे मारे गये हैं
sañjaya uvāca | mālava-madraka-bhayaṅkara-karma-kāriṇaḥ drāviḍā yautheyā lalitthāḥ kṣudrakā uśīnarā māvellakā tuṇḍikerāḥ sāvitry-putrāḥ prācyā udīcyāḥ pratīcyāś ca dākṣiṇātyāś ca | padātisaṅghā daśa-lakṣa-aśvā ratha-saṅghāś ca mahā-gajarājāś ca arjunasya hastena hatāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: The Mālavas, Madrakas, the Drāviḍas of dreadful deeds, the Yaudheyas, Lalitthas, Kṣudrakas, Uśīnaras, Māvellakas, Tuṇḍikeras, the sons of Sāvitrī, and the peoples of the East, North, West, and South—along with masses of infantry, ten lakhs of horses, companies of chariots, and great lordly elephants—were slain by Arjuna’s hand. The verse underscores the vast, indiscriminate reach of war: entire regional hosts are reduced to a tally, while the moral weight of violence remains implicit beneath the triumphal report.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the enormity of war: diverse peoples and vast forces are destroyed, reminding the reader that martial success in the epic is inseparable from the ethical gravity of mass killing, even when framed as kṣatriya duty.
Sañjaya reports that Arjuna has cut down large contingents—named regional groups along with infantry, a million horses, chariot formations, and great elephants—emphasizing Arjuna’s battlefield dominance during the Karṇa Parva fighting.