Shloka 60
अध्याय १ — न्यग्रोधवनोपवेशनम् तथा द्रौणिनिश्चयः
Night at the Banyan and Drauṇi’s Resolve
एकाकी बहुभि: क्षुद्रैराहवे शुद्धविक्रम: । पातितो भीमसेनेन एकादशचमूपति:
ekākī bahubhiḥ kṣudrair āhave śuddha-vikramaḥ | pātito bhīmasenena ekādaśa-camūpatiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Though he fought alone on the battlefield, displaying flawless valor—he who had once been lord of eleven armies—Duryodhana was brought down there by Bhīmasena, as many base men combined against him. The verse sharpens the moral sting: a hero’s fall is made more tragic when the manner of defeat is shown as collective and ignoble.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between personal heroism and the ethics of how victory is achieved. Even a warrior famed for ‘pure valor’ can be undone when many act together in a way the narrator brands as ‘kṣudra’ (base), suggesting that the manner of action—not only the outcome—carries moral weight in the Mahābhārata’s vision of dharma in war.
Sañjaya reports that Duryodhana—once the master of immense forces—ends up fighting alone. Despite his prowess, he is felled by Bhīmasena, with the narration emphasizing that many others joined in, framing Duryodhana’s downfall as both a military defeat and a morally charged moment near the war’s conclusion.