Shloka 296
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
व्याक्रोशन् क्षत्रिया: सर्वे धृष्टद्युम्नस्य भारत । भरतनन्दन! अपने राजाको मारा गया देख धूृष्टद्युम्नकी सेनाके सारे क्षत्रिय अत्यन्त शोकमें मग्न हो आर्तस्वरसे विलाप करने लगे
sañjaya uvāca | vyākrośan kṣatriyāḥ sarve dhṛṣṭadyumnasya bhārata | bharatanandana! ātmanaḥ rājānaṃ hataṃ dṛṣṭvā dhṛṣṭadyumnasenāyāḥ sarve kṣatriyā atyantaśoke magna ārtasvarena vilapire |
Sanjaya said: “O Bharata, all the kshatriyas of Dhrishtadyumna, seeing their king slain, were overwhelmed by intense grief. O joy of the Bharatas, they cried out and lamented in voices choked with anguish.” The verse underscores the immediate human cost of night-war and treacherous slaughter: even in a battlefield culture that accepts death, the killing of a leader in such circumstances shatters morale and plunges warriors into helpless mourning.
संजय उवाच