Shloka 26
तेच प्राप्यैव संग्रामे निर्जिता: सव्यसाचिना । शैनेयेन परामृष्टा: किमन्यद् भागधेयत:,तथापि सव्यसाची अर्जुनने संग्रामभूमिमें पहुँचते ही उन सबको पराजित कर दिया है और सात्यकिने भी उन्हें कुचल डाला है। इसे भाग्यके सिवा और क्या कहा जा सकता है?
te ca prāpyaiva saṅgrāme nirjitāḥ savyasācinā | śaineyena parāmṛṣṭāḥ kim anyad bhāgadhayataḥ ||
Sañjaya said: As soon as they reached the battlefield, they were defeated by Savyasācin (Arjuna). And they were also crushed by Śaineya (Sātyaki). What else can this be called, if not the allotment of fate?
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the perceived supremacy of destiny (bhāgadhaya) in the outcomes of war: even when warriors arrive with intent and effort, decisive defeat can occur instantly, prompting reflection on how much is governed by human agency versus fate.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the opposing warriors, upon entering the fray, are immediately routed by Arjuna and further overwhelmed by Sātyaki, and he interprets this sudden reversal as the working of fate.