Shloka 73

अध्याय ९ — कर्णस्य प्रहारः, योधयुग्मनियोजनम्, शैनेय-कैकेययोर्युद्धविन्यासः

Devanagari script

दुर्मर्षणं हतं दृष्टवा वृषसेनं च संयुगे

Transliteration

durmarṣaṇaṁ hataṁ dṛṣṭvā vṛṣasenaṁ ca saṁyuge | vidrutān rathino dṛṣṭvā manye śocati putrakaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśaṃpāyana berkata: “Melihat Durmarṣaṇa terbunuh dan Vṛṣasena gugur di medan perang, serta melihat para pahlawan berkereta lari bertempiaran, aku fikir anakku sedang berdukacita. Pelarian raja-raja sekutu dan berpalingnya para pejuang menandakan runtuhnya semangat; pemandangan demikian, lahir daripada harga moral perang yang kejam, pasti menikam hati seorang bapa dengan duka.”

Word by Word

• {'durmarṣaṇam': 'Durmarṣaṇa (a Kaurava prince), accusative singular', 'hatam': 'slain, killed', 'dṛṣṭvā': 'having seen', 'vṛṣasenam': 'Vṛṣasena (son of Karṇa), accusative singular', 'ca': 'and', 'saṁyuge': 'in battle, in the conflict', 'vidrutān': 'fleeing, routed, in flight', 'rathinaḥ (rathino)': 'chariot-warriors

• fighters mounted on chariots', 'manye': 'I think, I suppose', 'śocati': 'grieves, laments', 'putrakaḥ': 'my son (affectionate/diminutive usage)'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• Durmarṣaṇa
• Vṛṣasena
• rathins (chariot-warriors)
• saṁyuga (battlefield)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the human cost of war: even for those committed to kṣatriya duty, the sight of comrades slain and allies fleeing brings grief and moral weight. It underscores how battlefield outcomes affect not only strategy but also the inner world of those bound by loyalty and kinship.

What is happening in the narrative?

After Durmarṣaṇa and Vṛṣasena are seen slain and the chariot-warriors are observed fleeing, the speaker infers that his son is lamenting. The scene depicts a breakdown of the Kaurava side’s cohesion—rout and retreat—prompting sorrow and foreboding.