Shloka 26
Śalya Appointed as Karṇa’s Sārathi; Discourse on Praise, Blame, and Beneficial Counsel (कर्णस्य शल्यसारथ्यं तथा स्तवनिन्दाविचारः)
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 ||
サञ्जयは言った。「それらが虚しくなり、地に落ちたのを見て――かくして『マハーバーラタ』カルナ・パルヴァ、錯綜し絡み合う戦いを述べる第二十六章は終わる。この一句は、戦によって試されるとき虚勢の言葉が崩れ去り、暴力の偏りなき帰結によって驕りが大地へと打ち倒されることを示している。」
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.