Shloka 26
शल्यपर्वणि प्रथमाध्यायः — Karṇa-vadha-anantaraṃ Śalya-niyogaḥ, Saṃjayasya Dhṛtarāṣṭra-nivedanam
मद्राधिपो हत: शल्य: शकुनि: सौबलस्तथा । उलूक: पुरुषव्याप्र कैतव्यो दृढविक्रम:,'पुरुषसिंह! मद्रराज शल्य, सुबलपुत्र शकुनि तथा जुआरीका पुत्र सुदृढ़पराक्रमी उलूक --ये सब-के-सब मारे गये
madrādhipo hataḥ śalyaḥ śakuniḥ saubalastathā | ulūkaḥ puruṣavyāghra kaitavyo dṛḍhavikramaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O tiger among men, the lord of Madra—Śalya—has been slain; so too Śakuni, the son of Subala. Ulūka as well, the strong and valiant son of the gambler (Śakuni), has also fallen.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral logic of the epic: those who sustain adharma—especially through deceit and destructive counsel—eventually meet ruin, and their fall signals the unraveling of an unjust cause.
Vaiśampāyana reports key deaths in the late war: Śalya (the Madra king and Kaurava commander), Śakuni (Subala’s son and principal schemer), and Ulūka (Śakuni’s son) have been slain, marking a decisive turning point toward the Kauravas’ final defeat.