Shloka 18
शल्यपर्व — चतुर्विंशोऽध्यायः | Śalya Parva, Chapter 24: Disruption of Kaurava Formations and the Elephant Encirclement
अनन्तकल्पा ध्वजिनी भूत्वा होषां महात्मनाम् | क्षयमद्य गता युद्धे पश्य दैव॑ यथाविधम्,“इन महामनस्वी कौरवोंके पास अपार सेना थी; परंतु युद्धमें इस समयतक प्रायः नष्ट हो गयी। देखिये, प्रारब्धका कैसा खेल है?
anantakalpā dhvajinī bhūtvā hoṣāṁ mahātmanām | kṣayam adya gatā yuddhe paśya daivaṁ yathāvidham ||
सञ्जय उवाच—अनन्तकल्पा ध्वजिनी भूत्वा ह्येषां महात्मनाम् । क्षयमद्य गता युद्धे पश्य दैवं यथाविधम् ॥
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even immense power and resources are fragile in the face of time, karma, and daiva (destiny); the verse invites reflection on impermanence and the moral weight of actions that culminate in ruin.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Kauravas’ once vast host has now been largely destroyed in the ongoing war, and he urges the king to recognize the working of destiny in these events.