Shloka 20
शल्यपर्वणि प्रथमाध्यायः — Karṇa-vadha-anantaraṃ Śalya-niyogaḥ, Saṃjayasya Dhṛtarāṣṭra-nivedanam
आर्तनादं ततश्षक्रे श्रुव्वा विनिहतं नूपम् राजन! नृपश्रेष्ठ! हस्तिनापुरके सभी लोग संजयको सर्वथा महान् क्लेशसे युक्त देखकर अत्यन्त उद्विग्न हो “हा राजन्!' ऐसा कहते हुए फ़ूट-फ़ूटकर रोने लगे। नरव्याप्र! वहाँ चारों ओर बच्चोंसे लेकर बूढ़ोंतक सब लोग राजाको मारा गया सुन आर्तनाद करने लगे || १८-१९ $ || धावतश्चाप्यपश्यामस्तत्र तान् पुरुषर्षभान्
ārtanādaṃ tataḥ śakre śrutvā vinihataṃ nṛpam, rājan nṛpaśreṣṭha hastināpurake sabhī lokāḥ sañjayaṃ sarvathā mahān kleśa-yuktaṃ dṛṣṭvā atyantaṃ udvignāḥ “hā rājan!” iti vadantaḥ phūṭ-phūṭkar rorūyuḥ. naravyāghra! tatra caturdiśaṃ bālakebhyaḥ ārabhya vṛddhāntam sarve lokāḥ rājā hata iti śrutvā ārtanādaṃ cakruḥ. dhāvataś cāpy apaśyāmaḥ tatra tān puruṣarṣabhān.
毗湿摩波耶那说：“听到哀号传来，说国王已被杀，王中之因陀罗啊，至上的君主啊，哈斯提那补罗的百姓——见三阇耶被巨大的痛苦彻底压倒——无不震骇，呼喊‘哀哉！国王啊！’而放声恸哭。人中之虎啊，满城之内，自孩童至老者，凡闻王已殒命，皆发出悲号。众人奔走之际，我们也在那里看见那些雄健如公牛的英雄。”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the social and ethical aftermath of war: the death of a ruler is not a private loss but a collective wound. It underscores how violence reverberates through an entire community—children, elders, and courtiers alike—revealing the heavy human cost that accompanies political ambition and battlefield success.
News spreads in Hastināpura that the king has been killed. Seeing Sañjaya crushed by sorrow, the citizens become terrified and grief-stricken, crying out and weeping loudly across the city. Amid the commotion, people run about, and the narrator notes seeing prominent heroes there as well.