Shloka 17
शल्यपर्व — चतुर्विंशोऽध्यायः | Śalya Parva, Chapter 24: Disruption of Kaurava Formations and the Elephant Encirclement
अष्टादश दिनान्यद्य युद्धस्यास्य जनार्दन | वर्तमानस्य महतः समासाद्य परस्परम्
sañjaya uvāca |
aṣṭādaśa dināny adya yuddhasyāsya janārdana |
vartamānasya mahataḥ samāsādya parasparam ||
“ജനാർദനാ! പരസ്പരം ഏറ്റുമുട്ടി ആരംഭിച്ച ഈ മഹായുദ്ധം തുടരുന്നിട്ട് ഇന്ന് പതിനെട്ടു ദിവസമായി.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily functions as a narrative marker: it underscores the relentless continuity of violence and the irreversible accumulation of consequences over time—an implicit ethical reminder in the Mahābhārata that prolonged conflict magnifies loss and moral burden.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the great war has reached its eighteenth day, emphasizing that the armies have been locked in mutual engagement and that the battle has continued up to the present moment.