Shloka 53
Daiva–Puruṣakāra Discourse and the Elephant-Corps Engagement (भीमगजानीक-सम्भ्रान्ति)
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्ााभारत भीष्मपर्वके अन्तर्गत भीष्मवधपर्वमें धृष्टट्युम्न और द्रोणका युद्धविषयक तिरपनवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ,छिन्नांश्न तोमरान् राजन् महामात्रशिरांसि च
sañjaya uvāca | iti prakāraṁ śrīmahābhārate bhīṣmaparvake antargate bhīṣmavadhaparvaṇi dhṛṣṭadyumna-dronayor yuddhaviṣayakaḥ tripañcāśattamo 'dhyāyaḥ pūrṇaḥ | chinnāṁś ca tomarān rājan mahāmātraśirāṁsi ca |
三阇耶说道：于是，在《圣摩诃婆罗多》中，于《毗湿摩篇》之内——即论及毗湿摩被杀之段——叙述持军（Dhṛṣṭadyumna）与德罗那（Droṇa）交战的第五十三章至此告终。大王啊，又见长矛之杆碎裂，诸大将之首被斩落——皆为战争残酷代价的凄厉印记。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions as a closing colophon with a stark war-image: it underscores the heavy moral and human cost of conflict. Even when framed as kṣatriya-duty, battle produces irreversible loss, reminding the listener (and reader) that dharma in war is burdened by consequence and grief.
Sanjaya concludes the chapter describing the combat between Dhṛṣṭadyumna and Droṇa within the Bhīṣma Parvan’s Bhīṣma-vadha section, and he evokes the battlefield scene—broken spears and severed heads of high commanders—to convey the intensity and devastation of the fighting.