Shloka 51
शकुनिवधः — Sahadeva’s Slaying of Śakuni
with Ulūka’s fall
क्षुरप्रेण सुतीक्ष्णेन स हतः प्रापतद् भुवि । जनेश्वर! दूसरी ओर कुपित हुए भीमसेनने हँसते-हँसते बाणोंकी वर्षा करके सुदर्शनको ढक दिया। फिर क्रोधपूर्वक अट्टहास करते हुए उन्होंने उसके मस्तकको तीखे क्षुरप्रद्वारा धड़से काट लिया। सुदर्शन मरकर पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़ा || ४९-५० $ ।।
kṣurapreṇa sutīkṣṇena sa hataḥ prāpatad bhuvi | janeśvara! dvitīrī ora kupita hue bhīmasenane haṃsate-haṃsate bāṇoṃkī varṣā karke sudarśanako ḍhak diyā | punaḥ krodhapūrvak aṭṭahāsa karate hue unhoṃne usake mastakako tīkṣṇa kṣurapradvārā dhaṛ se kāṭ liyā | sudarśana marakara pṛthvīpar gir paṛā || 49-50 || tasmiṃstu nihate vīre tatastasyapadānugāḥ
Sañjaya berkata: Dihantam oleh anak panah bermata silet yang teramat tajam, ia pun roboh ke tanah. Wahai tuan para manusia! Di pihak lain, Bhīmasena—meski diliputi amarah—tertawa sambil menghujani Sudarśana dengan panah, menutupinya dari segala arah. Lalu, dengan tawa menggelegar yang sarat murka, ia menebas kepala Sudarśana dengan sebuah anak panah bermata silet yang tajam. Sudarśana tewas dan ambruk ke bumi. Ketika sang kesatria itu telah gugur, maka para pengikutnya…
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the grim ethic of kṣatriya warfare: prowess and resolve are praised, yet the scene also warns how anger and exultation (wrathful laughter) can accompany violence, underscoring the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between duty in battle and the moral cost of rage.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Bhīma overwhelms the warrior Sudarśana with a dense shower of arrows and then beheads him with a razor-headed shaft; Sudarśana falls dead, and the narration turns to what his followers do next.