Shloka 39
Adhyāya 40 (Book 7, Droṇa-parva): Abhimanyu’s Rapid Advance and Battlefield Disruption
इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत द्रोणपर्वके अन्तर्गत अभिमन्युवधपर्वमें दुःशासनयुद्धाविषयक उनतालीसवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
iti prakāraṁ śrīmahābhārate droṇaparvake antargata abhimanyuvadhaparvaṇi duḥśāsanayuddhāviṣayaka ūnatālīśattamo 'dhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ
Sanjaya said: Thus ends the thirty-ninth chapter, concerning the battle involving Duḥśāsana, within the Abhimanyu-slaying section of the Droṇa Parva of the Śrī Mahābhārata. The closing formula underscores the epic’s careful framing of events: each violent episode is recorded as part of a larger moral and historical account, inviting reflection on responsibility and the cascading consequences of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
As a colophon, the verse does not teach through direct instruction; instead, it frames the war narrative as a documented sequence of accountable actions. By naming the subject (Duḥśāsana’s battle) and locating it within the Abhimanyu-slaying section, it encourages readers to see each violent act as part of a wider moral chain of causes and consequences.
This is the formal closing statement of the chapter: it announces that the thirty-ninth chapter—focused on combat involving Duḥśāsana—has concluded, and it situates that chapter within the Abhimanyu-vadha subsection of the Droṇa Parva in the Mahābhārata.