Shloka 26
वितथांस्तान् समालक्ष्य पतितांश्व महीतले,इति श्रीमहा भारते कर्णपर्वणि संकुलयुद्धे षड़्विंशो 5ध्याय:
sañjaya uvāca: vitathāṁs tān samālakṣya patitāṁś ca mahītale | iti śrīmahābhārate karṇaparvaṇi saṅkulayuddhe ṣaḍviṁśo 'dhyāyaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Seeing them proved false and fallen upon the ground, thus ends the twenty-sixth chapter of the Karṇa Parva in the Mahābhārata, in the section describing the confused and densely entangled battle. The line underscores the moral collapse of boastful claims when tested in war, where pride is brought down to the earth by the impartial consequences of violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions as a moral and narrative punctuation: in war, inflated claims and intentions are exposed as 'vitatha' (futile/false) when the reality of death and defeat brings warriors down to the earth. It hints at the ethical cost of violence and the fragility of human pride.
Sañjaya reports that he sees certain figures (previously described in the chapter) fallen on the battlefield, and the line then transitions into the formal colophon marking the end of the chapter within the Karṇa Parva’s account of the chaotic battle.