Shloka 1
शल्यपर्व — चतुर्विंशोऽध्यायः | Śalya Parva, Chapter 24: Disruption of Kaurava Formations and the Elephant Encirclement
अत-#--#क्रतज चतुर्विशो$ध्याय: श्रीकृष्णके सम्मुख अर्जुनद्वारा दुर्योधनके दुराग्रहकी निन्दा और रथियोंकी सेनाका संहार संजय उवाच तस्मिन् शब्दे मृदौ जाते पाण्डवैर्निहते बले । अश्लैः सप्तशतै: शिष्टैरुपावर्तत सौबल:,संजय कहते हैं--राजन्! जब पाण्डवयोद्धाओंने अधिकांश सेनाका संहार कर डाला और युद्धका कोलाहल कम हो गया, तब सुबलपुत्र शकुनि शेष बचे हुए सात सौ घुड़सवारोंके साथ कौरव-सेनाके समीप चला गया
sañjaya uvāca | tasmin śabde mṛdau jāte pāṇḍavair nihate bale | aśvaiḥ saptśataiḥ śiṣṭair upāvartata saubalaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: O King, when the tumult of battle had subsided and the Pāṇḍavas had cut down the greater part of the army, Śakuni, the son of Subala, turned back and approached the Kaurava host with the seven hundred horsemen who still remained—an image of a collapsing cause clinging to its last, disciplined remnant amid the moral wreckage of obstinacy.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the inevitable weakening of an unrighteous cause: when adharma-driven obstinacy leads to ruin, only a small, disciplined remnant remains, and even skilled agents like Śakuni are reduced to regrouping amid collapse.
After the Pāṇḍavas have slaughtered much of the opposing force and the battlefield uproar quiets, Śakuni (son of Subala) approaches the Kaurava side accompanied by the remaining seven hundred cavalry.