Shloka 71
धृष्टद्युम्नस्य द्रोणरथारोহণं सात्यकेः प्रतिरक्षणं च | Dhrishtadyumna Boards Droṇa’s Chariot; Sātyaki’s Counter-Protection
इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत द्रोणपर्वके अन्तर्गत अभिमन्युवधपर्वमें षोडशराजकीयोपाख्यानविषयक इकह त्तरवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ,सच वीरान् रणे हत्वा राजपुत्रान् महाबलान् | वीरैराकाड्ृक्षितं मृत्युं सम्प्राप्तोडभिमुखं रणे “अभिमन्युने रणक्षेत्रमें महाबली वीर राजकुमारोंका वध करके वीर पुरुषोंद्वारा अभिलपफित संग्राममें सम्मुख मृत्यु प्राप्त की है
iti prakāraṁ śrīmahābhārate droṇaparvaṇi antar-gate abhimanyuvadhaparvaṇi ṣoḍaśarājakīyopākhyāna-viṣayaka eka-saptatitamo ’dhyāyaḥ samāptaḥ | sat vīrān raṇe hatvā rājaputrān mahābalān | vīrair ākāṅkṣitaṁ mṛtyuṁ samprāpto ’bhimukhaṁ raṇe || “abhimanyunā raṇakṣetre mahābalī vīra-rājakumāra-vadhaṁ kṛtvā vīra-puruṣair abhilaṣitaṁ saṅgrāme sammukhaṁ mṛtyuṁ prāptam”
Thus ends the seventy-first chapter, concerning the episode of the sixteen princes, within the Abhimanyu-slaying section of the Droṇa Parva of the Śrī Mahābhārata. Having slain in battle mighty princes—true heroes—Abhimanyu met, face to face on the battlefield, the death that warriors themselves desire: a direct and valorous end in combat.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames Abhimanyu’s end as a paradigmatic kṣatriya death: after fulfilling the warrior’s duty through courageous combat, he meets death directly on the battlefield—an end considered honorable within the epic’s martial ethic. It highlights valor, steadfastness, and the ideal of facing consequences without retreat.
This is a colophon-like conclusion to the chapter: it states that the chapter (about the episode of sixteen princes) has ended, and summarizes that Abhimanyu, after slaying many mighty princes in battle, attained a face-to-face death in the fight.