Shloka 35
रणभूमिवर्णनम् — Devāsuropama-yuddha and the ‘River’ Metaphor of the Battlefield
धृतराष्ट उवाच हते भीष्मे महेष्वासे द्रोणे कर्णे महारथे
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | hate bhīṣme maheṣvāse droṇe karṇe mahārathe |
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “After Bhīṣma—mighty wielder of the great bow—had been slain, and after Droṇa and Karṇa, the great chariot-warrior, had fallen…”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the moral and psychological aftermath of war: even the fall of the greatest heroes becomes a turning point that forces reflection on impermanence, the limits of power, and the heavy consequences of adharma-driven conflict.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra begins a question or lament by recalling that Bhīṣma has been killed and that Droṇa and Karṇa have also fallen. This sets the scene for discussing what happened next in the war after the Kaurava side lost its principal champions.