Shloka 189
अनुक्रमणिकाध्यायः (Anukramaṇikā Adhyāya) — Invocation, Narrator Frame, and Textual Scope
यदाश्रौष॑ चास्मदीयान् महारथान् व्यवस्थितानर्जुनस्यान्तकाय । संशप्तकान् निहतानर्जुनेन तदा नाशंसे विजयाय संजय,संजय! मेरी विजयकी आशा तो तभी नहीं रही जब मैंने सुना कि मेरे जो महारथी वीर संशप्तक योद्धा अर्जुनके वधके लिये मोर्चेपर डटे हुए थे, उन्हें अकेले ही अर्जुनने मौतके घाट उतार दिया
yadāśrauṣa ca āsmadīyān mahārathān vyavasthitān arjunasyāntakāya | saṁśaptakān nihatān arjunena tadā nāśaṁse vijayāya sañjaya sañjaya ||
Sanjaya, Sanjaya—my hope of victory vanished the moment I heard that our own great chariot-warriors, the Saṁśaptakas, who had taken their stand in battle to bring about Arjuna’s death, were slain by Arjuna alone.
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the fragility of victory founded on arrogance and numbers: when even vowed elite warriors fall to a single superior hero, confidence collapses. It suggests that success in war is not guaranteed by force alone, but depends on capability, resolve, and the moral-psychological strength that sustains a cause.
The speaker tells Sanjaya that he lost hope of victory upon hearing that the Saṁśaptakas—his side’s great chariot-warriors who had positioned themselves to kill Arjuna—were nevertheless slain by Arjuna alone.