Shloka 25
स्वर्गे दुर्योधनदर्शनम् | Duryodhana Seen in Heaven
Triviṣṭapa
क्व नु ते पार्थिवान् ब्रद्मुन्नैतान् पश्यामि नारद । विराटद्रुपदौ चैव धृष्टकेतुमुखांश्व॒ तान्
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca | kva nu te pārthivān brūhi munne tān na paśyāmi nārada | virāṭa-drupadau caiva dhṛṣṭaketumukhāṃś ca tān | śikhaṇḍinaṃ draupadeyāṃś ca sarvān durdharṣaṃ cābhimanyum api paśyituṃ icchāmi ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana berkata: “Wahai resi, beritahulah aku—di manakah para raja itu? Wahai Nārada, aku tidak melihat mereka di sini. Di manakah Virāṭa dan Drupada, serta mereka yang dipimpin oleh Dhṛṣṭaketu? Aku juga ingin menyaksikan Śikhaṇḍin, semua putera Draupadī, dan wira Abhimanyu yang tidak tertundukkan.”
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when death occurs under the banner of righteous duty (kṣatriya-dharma), the moral weight of loss remains. The epic underscores that dharma does not erase grief; it frames it, and the longing for reunion becomes part of the ethical aftermath of war.
The speaker addresses Nārada and asks where certain well-known warriors and kings are—Virāṭa, Drupada, Dhṛṣṭaketu and others, Śikhaṇḍin, Draupadī’s sons, and Abhimanyu—because he does not see them present and wishes to meet them.