Shloka 26
Śalya-hatānantarāṇi: Madrarāja-padānugānāṃ praskandana and the Pandava counter-encirclement (शल्यहतानन्तराणि—मद्रराजपदानुगानां प्रस्कन्दनम्)
(यददभुतं कर्म न शक््यमन्यै: सुदुःसहं तत् कृतवन्तमेकम् । शल्यं नरेन्द्रस्य विषण्णभावाद् विचिन्तयामास मृदड़केतु: ।। किमेतदिन्द्रावरजस्य वाक्यं मोघं भवत्यद्य विधेबलेन । जहीति शल्यं हावदत् तदाजौ न लोकनाथस्य वचो<न््यथा स्यात् ।।) जो अद्भुत एवं दुःसह कार्य दूसरे किसीसे नहीं हो सकता, वही एकमात्र शल्यने राजा युधिष्ठिरके प्रति कर दिखाया। इससे मृदंगचिह्लित ध्वजवाले युधिष्ठिर विषादग्रस्त हो इस प्रकार चिन्ता करने लगे--'“क्या आज दैवबलसे इन्द्रके छोटे भाई भगवान् श्रीकृष्णकी बात झूठी हो जायगी। उन्होंने स्पष्ट कहा था कि “आप युद्धमें शल्यको मार डालिये” उन जगदीश्वरका कथन व्यर्थ तो नहीं होना चाहिये। तथा कृते राजनि भीमसेनो मद्राधिपस्थाथ ततो महात्मा । छित्त्वा धनुर्वेगवता शरेण द्वाभ्यामविध्यत् सुभुशं नरेन्द्रम,जब मद्रराज शल्यने राजा युधिष्ठिरकी ऐसी दशा कर दी, तब महामनस्वी भीमसेनने एक वेगवान् बाणद्वारा उनके धनुषको काट दिया और दो बाणोंसे उन नरेशको भी अत्यन्त घायल कर दिया
sañjaya uvāca | yad adbhutaṃ karma na śakyam anyaiḥ suduḥsahaṃ tat kṛtavantam ekam | śalyaṃ narendrasya viṣaṇṇabhāvād vicintayāmāsa mṛdaṅgaketūḥ || kim etad indrāvarajasya vākyaṃ moghaṃ bhavaty adya vidhibalena | jahīti śalyaṃ hāvadat tad ājau na lokanāthasya vaco 'nyathā syāt ||
Sañjaya said: Seeing that Śalya alone had accomplished a wondrous and almost unbearable feat—something no other could have done—Yudhiṣṭhira, whose banner bore the emblem of a drum, sank into dejection and began to reflect: “Can it be that today, by the force of destiny, the words of Kṛṣṇa, the younger brother of Indra, will prove futile? In the battle he clearly urged, ‘Slay Śalya.’ The Lord of the world’s counsel should not turn out otherwise.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic test under extreme pressure: when events seem to contradict righteous guidance, a leader’s inner steadiness is shaken. Yudhiṣṭhira’s anxiety—whether Kṛṣṇa’s counsel could become ‘mogha’ by fate—shows the ethical tension between trusting wise instruction and confronting the unpredictable force of destiny.
Sañjaya reports that Śalya has achieved a formidable battlefield success against Yudhiṣṭhira, plunging the king into dejection. Yudhiṣṭhira reflects that Kṛṣṇa had urged him to kill Śalya in battle and worries that, due to fate, those words might prove fruitless—an ominous moment of doubt amid the ongoing combat.