Shloka 26
शकुनिवधः — Sahadeva’s Slaying of Śakuni
with Ulūka’s fall
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत शल्यपर्वमें धतराष्ट्रके ग्यारह पुत्रोंका वधविषयक छब्बीसवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ,मम होतदशक्तं वै वाजिवृन्दमरिंदम
iti prakāraṁ śrīmahābhārate śalyaparvaṇi dhṛtarāṣṭrasya ekādaśa putrāṇāṁ vadhaviṣayakaḥ ṣaḍviṁśatitamo 'dhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ | mama hotadaśaktaṁ vai vājivṛndaṁ arindama ||
Demikian berakhir bab kedua puluh enam dari Śalya Parva dalam Śrī Mahābhārata, mengenai gugurnya sebelas putra Dhṛtarāṣṭra. Sañjaya berkata: “Wahai penakluk musuh, kekuatanku sendiri tidak memadai menghadapi himpunan kuda yang demikian besar.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions as a closing colophon and a reflective note: even committed witnesses and participants must acknowledge human limitation in the face of war’s vast, impersonal forces. It underscores the ethical tragedy that the conflict consumes lineages (Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons) and reduces agency to helplessness.
Sañjaya marks the completion of a chapter in the Śalya Parvan that concerns the killing of eleven sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and he remarks that he was not capable of withstanding or countering the great host of horses (cavalry), addressing an ‘enemy-subduer’ (arindama).