Shloka 32
हिमवान् पारियात्रश्न विन्ध्यो मलय एव च । चत्वार: पर्वता: केन पातिता भूरितेजस:,धर्मपुत्रो महाबाहुर्विललाप सुविस्तरम् । अर्जुन मरे पड़े थे; उनके धनुष-बाण इधर-उधर बिखरे थे। भीमसेन और नकुल-सहदेव भी प्राणरहित हो निश्रेष्ट हो गये थे। इन सबको देखकर युधिष्ठिर गरम-गरम लंबी साँसें खींचने लगे। उनके नेत्रोंसे शोकके आँसू उमड़कर उन्हें भिगो रहे थे। अपने समस्त भ्राताओंको इस प्रकार धराशायी हुए देख महाबाह धर्मपुत्र युधिष्ठिर गहरी चिन्तामें डूब गये और देरतक विलाप करते रहे-- मेरे महातेजस्वी भाई हिमवान, पारियात्र, विन्ध्य तथा मलय--इन चारों पर्वतोंके समान हैं। इन्हें किसने मार गिराया है?
himavān pāriyātraś ca vindhyo malaya eva ca | catvāraḥ parvatāḥ kena pātitā bhūritejasaḥ ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “Himavān, Pāriyātra, Vindhya, and Malaya—these four mighty mountains: by whom have they been struck down?” Thus, seeing his brothers fallen and lifeless, Dharmaputra Yudhiṣṭhira, overwhelmed by grief, lamented at length, comparing their great splendor and steadfastness to the immovable ranges of the earth and questioning what force could have felled such ‘mountain-like’ heroes.
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the shock of seeing even the ‘most steadfast’ fall—those who seem mountain-like in strength and radiance. It underscores impermanence and the ethical weight of kinship: Yudhiṣṭhira’s dharmic sensitivity expresses itself as grief, reflection, and the search for causes rather than triumph or indifference.
After finding his brothers (Arjuna, Bhīma, Nakula, Sahadeva) lying fallen and lifeless, Yudhiṣṭhira laments. He compares their greatness to four famous mountain ranges—Himavān, Pāriyātra, Vindhya, and Malaya—and asks who could have ‘felled’ such mighty figures.