Shloka 17
शल्यपर्व — चतुर्विंशोऽध्यायः | Śalya Parva, Chapter 24: Disruption of Kaurava Formations and the Elephant Encirclement
अष्टादश दिनान्यद्य युद्धस्यास्य जनार्दन | वर्तमानस्य महतः समासाद्य परस्परम्,“जनार्दन! आप स्वस्थचित्त होकर इन घोड़ोंको हाँकिये और इस सैन्यसागरमें प्रवेश कीजिये। आज मैं तीखे बाणोंसे शत्रुओंका अन्त कर डालूँगा। परस्पर भिड़कर इस महान् संग्रामके आरम्भ हुए आज अठारह दिन हो गये
sañjaya uvāca |
aṣṭādaśa dināny adya yuddhasyāsya janārdana |
vartamānasya mahataḥ samāsādya parasparam ||
Sanjaya said: “O Janārdana, today eighteen days have passed since this great war began—since the armies met one another in close engagement, and the vast conflict has continued without pause.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily functions as a narrative marker: it underscores the relentless continuity of violence and the irreversible accumulation of consequences over time—an implicit ethical reminder in the Mahābhārata that prolonged conflict magnifies loss and moral burden.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the great war has reached its eighteenth day, emphasizing that the armies have been locked in mutual engagement and that the battle has continued up to the present moment.