Shloka 26
गदायुद्ध-समारम्भः
Commencement of the Mace-Duel Proceedings
हतो वैकर्तन: कर्ण: पुत्राश्नास्य महारथा: । भूरिश्रवा रौहिणेय मद्रराजश्न वीर्यवान्
hato vaikartanaḥ karṇaḥ putrāś cāsya mahārathāḥ | bhūriśravā rauhiṇeyo madrarājaś ca vīryavān ||
Sinabi ni Nārada: “Napatay si Karṇa na Vaikartana; at gayundin ang kanyang mga anak, na mga maharatha. Bumagsak din si Bhūriśravas, pati si Rauhiṇeya (Sātyaki), at ang magiting na hari ng Madra.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the sweeping devastation of war: celebrated warriors and royal houses fall alike. It implicitly warns that martial glory is transient and that large-scale conflict, especially when driven by adharma and vengeance, culminates in irreversible loss.
Nārada reports key deaths among major combatants: Karṇa and his sons, Bhūriśravas, Rauhiṇeya (Sātyaki), and the Madra king (Śalya). It functions as a grim tally of fallen heroes in the late stages of the Kurukṣetra war.