Shloka 26
Karṇa-nidhana-śravaṇa, Kṣaya-Varṇana, and Śeṣa-sainika-nirdeśa
Hearing of Karṇa’s Fall, Accounting of Losses, and Naming of Remaining Warriors
आर्तनादो महानासीत् स्त्रीणां भरतसत्तम । भरतश्रेष्ठ जनमेजय! राजाओंमें सर्वश्रेष्ठ धृतराष्ट्रके व्याकुल होकर पृथ्वीपर गिर जानेसे महलमें स्त्रियोंका महान् आर्तनाद गूँज उठा
ārtanādo mahān āsīt strīṇāṃ bharatasattama | bharataśreṣṭha janamejaya rājñāṃ śreṣṭhasya dhṛtarāṣṭrasya vyākulaḥ pṛthivyāṃ nipatitasya mahale strīṇāṃ mahān ātanādaḥ pratyanunādayat ||
वैशम्पायन उवाच—भरतसत्तम, भरतश्रेष्ठ जनमेजय! राज्ञां वरिष्ठो धृतराष्ट्रो व्याकुलः पृथिव्यां पतितः; तस्मिन् पतिते महान्तः स्त्रीणाम् आर्तनादाः प्रासादे समुत्थिताः।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ripple-effect of adharma and war: suffering spreads beyond warriors to families and the vulnerable. A ruler’s inner collapse becomes a public calamity, reminding readers that power and status do not shield one from grief, and that ethical failures in governance and kinship lead to collective anguish.
As the war’s grim news and pressures mount, Dhṛtarāṣṭra becomes distraught and falls to the ground. Inside the palace, the women respond with a loud collective cry of lamentation, and the palace echoes with their wailing.