Shloka 9
Chapter 26: Śoka-pratiṣedha, Hata-saṅkhyā, Gati-vibhāga, Pretakārya-ājñā
Restraint of Grief, Count of the Slain, Destinies, and Funerary Directives
युधिछिर उवाच दशायुतानामयुतं सहस्राणि च विंशति: । कोट्य: षष्टिश्न॒ षट् चैव हास्मिन् राजन् मृथे हता:,युधिष्ठिर बोले--राजन्! इस युद्धमें एक अरब, छाछठ करोड़, बीस हजार योद्धा मारे गये हैं
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca—daśāyutānām ayutaṃ sahasrāṇi ca viṃśatiḥ | koṭyaḥ ṣaṣṭiś ca ṣaṭ caiva hāsmin rājan mṛdhe hatāḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O King, in this battle there have been slain sixty-six crores, twenty thousand, and one ayuta added to ten ayutas.” (He states the staggering tally of the dead, underscoring the moral weight of victory and the grief that follows war.)
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a ‘victory’ in war is ethically burdened: the sheer number of deaths becomes a moral indictment, intensifying remorse and highlighting the dharmic cost of violence.
In the Strī Parva’s mourning context, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses the king and reports an enormous count of those slain in the battle, framing the scene with the magnitude of loss.