Shloka 463
शकुनिवधः — Sahadeva’s Slaying of Śakuni
with Ulūka’s fall
नन्दयन् पाण्डवान् सर्वान् व्यथयंश्वापि तावकान् | महाराज! सुशर्मा आपके पुत्रोंको व्यथित और समस्त पाण्डवोंको आनन्दित करता हुआ प्राणशून्य होकर पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़ा
sañjaya uvāca | nandayan pāṇḍavān sarvān vyathayaṃś cāpi tāvakān | mahārāja! suśarmā āpake putroṃ ko vyathita aura samasta pāṇḍavoṃ ko ānandita karatā huā prāṇaśūnya hokara pṛthvīpara gira paḍā |
सञ्जय उवाच—सर्वान् पाण्डवान् नन्दयन् तावकांश्च व्यथयन्, महाराज, सुशर्मा तव पुत्रान् व्यथयित्वा पाण्डवान् प्रहर्षयित्वा प्राणहीनः पृथिव्यां पपात।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral gravity of war: victories and losses are immediate and irreversible, and a warrior’s fall becomes a cause of joy for one side and grief for the other. It highlights how outcomes in a dharma-yuddha are experienced collectively—one person’s death shifts the emotional and ethical balance of the battlefield.
Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra that Susarma has been slain. His death simultaneously heartens the Pandavas and troubles the Kaurava camp, and he collapses lifeless onto the ground.