Shloka 52

कर्णनिधनश्रवणम् — Hearing of Karṇa’s Fall and Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament

Devanagari script

एते चान्ये च बहवो राजान: सगणा रणे । हता: सहस््रशो राजन्‌ यन्मां त्वं परिपृच्छसि,महाराज! एक-दूसरेके वधकी इच्छा रखनेवाले असीम बलशाली अन्यान्य योद्धा भी मौतके घाट उतर चुके हैं। राजन! ये तथा और भी बहुत-से नरेश रणभूमिमें अपने दलबलके साथ सहस्रोंकी संख्यामें मारे गये हैं। आप मुझसे जो कुछ पूछ रहे थे, वह सब मैंने बता दिया

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

ete cānye ca bahavo rājānaḥ sagaṇā raṇe |

hatāḥ sahasraśo rājan yan māṃ tvaṃ paripṛcchasi ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “These, and many other kings besides, together with their retinues, have been slain on the battlefield—by the thousands, O King. What you have asked me, I have told: countless mighty warriors, driven by the desire to kill one another, have already gone to death.”

Word by Word

• {'ete': 'these (persons/warriors)', 'anye': 'others', 'bahavaḥ': 'many', 'rājānaḥ': 'kings, rulers', 'sagaṇāḥ': 'with their groups/retinues/forces', 'raṇe': 'in battle, on the battlefield', 'hatāḥ': 'slain, killed', 'sahasraśaḥ': 'by the thousands

• in thousands', 'rājan': 'O King (address to Dhṛtarāṣṭra)', 'yat': 'that which', 'mām': 'me', 'tvam': 'you', 'paripṛcchasi': 'you ask, you inquire'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• kings (rājānaḥ)
• retinues/armies (gaṇa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the vast, indiscriminate destruction of war: even kings with full retinues fall in thousands. It implicitly warns of the moral and human cost of violence driven by mutual hatred and the will to kill.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that many kings and warriors, along with their forces, have already been killed on the battlefield in great numbers, and he affirms that he has answered what the king asked.