Shloka 18
Adhyāya 17 — Gandhārī’s Vilāpa at Duryodhana’s Body (स्त्रीपर्व, अध्याय १७)
अक्षौहिणीर्महाबाहुर्दश चैकां च केशव । आनयद् यः पुरा संख्ये सो5नयान्निधनं गत:,“केशव! जिस महाबाहु वीरने पहले ग्यारह अक्षौहिणी सेनाओंको जुटा लिया था, वही अपनी अनीतिके कारण युद्धमें मार डाला गया
akṣauhīṇīr mahābāhur daśa caikāṁ ca keśava | ānayat yaḥ purā saṅkhye so 'nayān nidhanaṁ gataḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Wahai Keśava, pahlawan berlengan perkasa yang dahulu, dalam hitungan perang, menghimpunkan sebelas akṣauhiṇī bala tentera—kini telah menemui kebinasaannya kerana perilaku yang tidak benar.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power and military might—even the ability to muster vast armies—cannot protect one who acts through anaya (unrighteous, unethical means); adharma leads to ruin.
Vaiśampāyana addresses Kṛṣṇa (Keśava), pointing to a warrior famed for assembling eleven akṣauhiṇīs, and states that he has been slain/ruined because of his unethical conduct—an interpretive moral reflection on the war’s outcome.