Shloka 47
Adhyāya 33: Rauhiṇeya (Balarāma) is welcomed and takes his seat to witness the gadā-engagement
हतो द्रोणश्न॒ कर्णश्ष॒ हतः शल्य: प्रतापवान् । वैरस्य चादिकर्तासौ शकुनिर्निहतो रणे,“तेरी ही करतूतोंसे आचार्य द्रोण, कर्ण, प्रतापी शल्य तथा वैरका आदिस्रष्टा वह शकुनि >-ये सभी रणभूमिमें मारे गये हैं
sañjaya uvāca | hato droṇaś ca karṇaś ca hataḥ śalyaḥ pratāpavān | vairasya cādikartāsau śakunir nihato raṇe ||
Sañjaya said: Droṇa has been slain, and Karṇa too; the valiant Śalya has also fallen. And Śakuni—who was the prime instigator of this enmity—has been killed in battle. The report underscores the moral arc of the war: those who sustained adharma through deceit, pride, and partisan violence meet their end amid the very conflict they helped unleash.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights moral causality in epic history: those who initiate and perpetuate hostility (vairasya ādikartā) and uphold adharma through manipulation and violence ultimately face the consequences within the same destructive cycle they helped create.
Sañjaya informs Dhṛtarāṣṭra that major Kaurava-side figures—Droṇa, Karṇa, the valiant Śalya, and Śakuni—have been slain on the battlefield, emphasizing especially Śakuni’s role as the chief instigator of the feud.