Shloka 32
Chapter 26: Śoka-pratiṣedha, Hata-saṅkhyā, Gati-vibhāga, Pretakārya-ājñā
Restraint of Grief, Count of the Slain, Destinies, and Funerary Directives
जयद्रथं च राजानमभिमन्युं च भारत । दौ:शासनिं लक्ष्मणं च धृष्टकेतुं च पार्थिवम्,राजा दुर्योधन, उनके निन्यानबे महारथी भाई, राजा शल्य, शल, भूरिश्रवा, राजा जयद्रथ, अभिमन्यु, दुःशासन-पुत्र लक्ष्मण, राजा धृष्टकेतु, बृहन्त, सोमदत्त, सौसे भी अधिक सूंजयवीर, राजा क्षेमधन्वा, विराट द्रपद, शिखण्डी, पांचालदेशीय द्रुपदपुत्र धृष्टद्युम्न, युधामन्यु, पराक्रमी उत्तमौजा, कोसलराज बृहद्वल, द्रौपदीके पाँचों पुत्र, सुबलपुत्र शकुनि, अचल, वृषक, राजा भगदत्त, पुत्रोंसहित अमर्षशील वैकर्तन कर्ण, महाधनुर्धर पाँचों केकयराजकुमार, महारथी त्रिगर्त, राक्षसराज घटोत्कच, बकके भाई राक्षसप्रवर अलम्बुष और राजा जलसंध--इनका तथा अन्य बहुतेरे सहस्रों भूपालोंका घीकी धारासे प्रज्वलित हुई अग्नियोंद्वारा उन लोगोंने दाह-कर्म कराया
jayadrathaṁ ca rājānam abhimanyuṁ ca bhārata | dauḥśāsaniṁ lakṣmaṇaṁ ca dhṛṣṭaketuṁ ca pārthivam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Bhārata, (they performed the funeral rites) for King Jayadratha, for Abhimanyu, for Lakṣmaṇa the son of Duḥśāsana, and for King Dhṛṣṭaketu.” In the wider narration of this passage, the dead of the great war are named and their bodies are consigned to the flames—an act that underscores both the enormity of kṣatriya violence and the remaining obligation of dharma: to honor the fallen with proper rites even amid grief and devastation.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even after catastrophic violence, dharma persists as responsibility: the living must perform proper last rites for the dead. The verse highlights the ethical residue of war—honoring human dignity in death and acknowledging the cost of adharma-driven conflict.
Vaiśampāyana continues listing notable warriors who were given cremation/funeral rites after the Kurukṣetra war. This verse names Jayadratha, Abhimanyu, Lakṣmaṇa (Duḥśāsana’s son), and King Dhṛṣṭaketu among those for whom the rites were performed.