Shloka 41
इधर रथसेनामें शत्रुदमन दुर्योधनको न देखकर अश्व॒त्थामा, कृपाचार्य और सात्वतवंशी कृतवर्माने समस्त क्षत्रियोंसे पूछा--“राजा दुर्योधन कहाँ चले गये? ।। तेड5पश्यमाना राजानं वर्तमाने जनक्षये । मन्वाना निहतं तत्र तव पुत्र महारथा:
sañjaya uvāca |
idhara ratha-senāyāṁ śatru-damanaṁ duryodhanaṁ na dṛṣṭvā aśvatthāmā kṛpācāryaś ca sātvata-vaṁśī kṛtavarmā ca samastaiḥ kṣatriyaiḥ papracchuḥ— “rājā duryodhanaḥ kva gataḥ?” ||
te ’paśyamānā rājānaṁ vartamāne jana-kṣaye |
manvānā nihataṁ tatra tava putraṁ mahā-rathāḥ ||
रथसेनायां शत्रुदमनं दुर्योधनं न दृष्ट्वा अश्वत्थामा कृपः सात्वतवंशी कृतवर्मा च सर्वान् क्षत्रियान् अपृच्छन्— “राजा दुर्योधनो कुत्र गतः?” । तेऽपश्यन्तो राजानं वर्तमाने जनक्षये मन्वाना निहतं तत्र तव पुत्रं महारथाः ॥
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in the chaos of war, even the mightiest are subject to uncertainty and fear; attachment to power and identity collapses before the reality of mass destruction (jana-kṣaya), reminding readers of the fragility of worldly status and the grave ethical cost of conflict.
After intense fighting, Aśvatthāmā, Kr̥pa, and Kr̥tavarmā cannot locate Duryodhana in the chariot formations. They question the surrounding kṣatriyas and, seeing the battlefield’s devastation, begin to suspect that Duryodhana has been killed.