Shloka 55
अध्याय ९ — दुर्योधनस्य अन्त्यावस्था, विलापः, तथा सौप्तिक-प्रतिवृत्तम्
Duryodhana’s Final Condition, Lamentation, and the Night’s Report
“मित्रवर! आज आचार्य कृप और कृतवर्माके साथ तुमने जो कार्य कर दिखाया है, उसे न गंगानन्दन भीष्म, न कर्ण और न तुम्हारे पिताजी ही कर सके थे ।।
sañjaya uvāca | mitravara! adya ācārya-kṛpa-kṛtavarmābhyāṃ saha tvayā yat karma pradarśitaṃ, tat na gaṅgānandano bhīṣmaḥ, na karṇaḥ, na ca tava pitā kartuṃ śaśāka || sa ca senāpatiḥ kṣudro hataḥ sārthaṃ śikhaṇḍinā | tena manye maghavatā samam ātmānam adya vai ||
Wika ni Sañjaya: “O pinakamabuting kaibigan! Ang nagawa mo ngayon kasama ang gurong si Kṛpa at si Kṛtavarman ay bagay na hindi nagawa ni Bhīṣma, anak ng Gaṅgā, ni ni Karṇa, ni maging ng sarili mong ama. Napatay ang hamak na punong-kawal na si Dhṛṣṭadyumna—kasama si Śikhaṇḍin. Kaya ngayong araw, tunay kong itinuturing ang sarili kong kapantay ni Maghavat (Indra).”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how triumph in war can be morally compromised: Sañjaya praises the deed as unprecedented, yet labels the slain commander “kṣudra,” revealing partisan judgment and the ethical dissonance of celebrating a night-killing. It implicitly warns that victory pursued through questionable means breeds pride and further moral decline.
In the aftermath of the Kurukṣetra war, during the Sauptika episode, the Kaurava survivors (Aśvatthāman with Kṛpa and Kṛtavarman) have carried out a night assault. Sañjaya reports and exults that Dhṛṣṭadyumna, the Pāṇḍava commander, has been killed—along with Śikhaṇḍī—and he compares his elation to Indra’s stature.