Shloka 743
अध्याय ९ — कर्णस्य प्रहारः, योधयुग्मनियोजनम्, शैनेय-कैकेययोर्युद्धविन्यासः
विद्रुतान् रथिनो दृष्टवा मन्ये शोचति पुत्रक: । दुर्मैषण और वृषसेन भी युद्धमें मारे गये
vidrutān rathino dṛṣṭvā manye śocati putrakaḥ |
Vaiśampāyana berkata: Melihat para pahlawan berkereta lari bertempiaran, aku fikir anakku sedang berdukacita. Kerana Durmaiṣaṇa dan Vṛṣasena juga telah gugur di medan perang; dihentam oleh para Pāṇḍava yang perkasa, bala tentera menjadi panik dan kucar-kacir. Raja-raja sekutu, berpaling daripada pertempuran, mula melarikan diri, dan bahkan para rathin pun telah menunjukkan belakang. Melihat semuanya itu, pada hematku anakku ditenggelami kesedihan.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the ethical and psychological cost of war: when key warriors fall, collective morale collapses, and even those bound by kṣatriya duty may retreat. It underscores how leadership, courage, and adherence to dharma are tested under catastrophic loss.
After Durmaiṣaṇa and Vṛṣasena are killed and the Pāṇḍavas strike the opposing forces hard, the army breaks into a rout. Allied kings and chariot-warriors flee, and Vaiśampāyana infers that his son (the listener within the frame narrative) must be grieving upon seeing this collapse.