Shloka 7
Duryodhana-śibira-praveśaḥ — The Pāṇḍavas Enter the Kaurava Camp; The Burning of Arjuna’s Chariot
दुष्करं भवता कर्म रणेडद्य सुमहत् कृतम् कौरवेन्द्र रणे हत्वा गदयातिकृतश्रमम्,“कौरवराज दुर्योधनने गदायुद्धमें बड़ा भारी परिश्रम किया था। आज रणभूमिमें उसका वध करके आपने महान् एवं दुष्कर पराक्रम कर दिखाया है
duṣkaraṃ bhavatā karma raṇe'dya sumahat kṛtam | kauravendra raṇe hatvā gadayātikṛtaśramam ||
Sañjaya said: “O lord of the Kurus, you have accomplished today on the battlefield a deed both exceedingly great and difficult. For, having slain in combat Duryodhana—who had exerted himself to the utmost in the mace-fight—you have displayed a formidable and hard-to-achieve prowess.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral tension of battlefield success: even when victory is achieved through extraordinary prowess, it remains a grave act—killing an opponent who has already been pushed to extreme exhaustion. It invites reflection on how martial achievement and ethical evaluation can coexist uneasily in the Mahābhārata’s dharma discourse.
Sañjaya reports and praises the decisive outcome of the mace-duel: Duryodhana, worn out by intense exertion in gada-yuddha, has been slain in battle. Addressing the Kuru-king (Yudhiṣṭhira), Sañjaya frames the act as a great and difficult exploit accomplished that day.