मौसलपर्व — अध्याय ८
Arjuna’s evacuation of Dvārakā, Vasudeva’s rites, and the caravan’s crisis
हतं पञ्चशतं तेषां सहस्नं बाहुशालिनाम्
hataṁ pañcaśataṁ teṣāṁ sahasraṁ bāhuśālinām
हतं पञ्चशतं तेषां सहस्रं बाहुशालिनाम्।
अर्जुन उवाच
The verse highlights the moral gravity of violence: strength and heroism do not protect one from the consequences of collective rage and adharma, and mass killing reduces human worth to mere counts—prompting reflection on restraint, responsibility, and the ethical cost of conflict.
Arjuna reports the scale of deaths—hundreds and even a thousand mighty warriors slain—conveying the catastrophic outcome of the internecine destruction described in the Mausala Parva.