Shloka 41
भीमसेनस्य कौरवसुतवधः तथा श्रुतर्वावधः
Slaying of Kaurava princes and the fall of Śrutarvā
इधर रथसेनामें शत्रुदमन दुर्योधनको न देखकर अश्व॒त्थामा, कृपाचार्य और सात्वतवंशी कृतवर्माने समस्त क्षत्रियोंसे पूछा--“राजा दुर्योधन कहाँ चले गये? ।। तेड5पश्यमाना राजानं वर्तमाने जनक्षये । मन्वाना निहतं तत्र तव पुत्र महारथा:
sañjaya uvāca |
idhara ratha-senāyāṁ śatru-damanaṁ duryodhanaṁ na dṛṣṭvā aśvatthāmā kṛpācāryaś ca sātvata-vaṁśī kṛtavarmā ca samastaiḥ kṣatriyaiḥ papracchuḥ— “rājā duryodhanaḥ kva gataḥ?” ||
te ’paśyamānā rājānaṁ vartamāne jana-kṣaye |
manvānā nihataṁ tatra tava putraṁ mahā-rathāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Not seeing Duryodhana—subduer of foes—there in the chariot-host, Aśvatthāmā, Kr̥pa the preceptor, and Kr̥tavarmā of the Sātvata line questioned all the kṣatriyas: “Where has King Duryodhana gone?” As they could not find the king amid the ongoing slaughter of men, those great chariot-warriors began to suspect that your son had been slain there.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in the chaos of war, even the mightiest are subject to uncertainty and fear; attachment to power and identity collapses before the reality of mass destruction (jana-kṣaya), reminding readers of the fragility of worldly status and the grave ethical cost of conflict.
After intense fighting, Aśvatthāmā, Kr̥pa, and Kr̥tavarmā cannot locate Duryodhana in the chariot formations. They question the surrounding kṣatriyas and, seeing the battlefield’s devastation, begin to suspect that Duryodhana has been killed.