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 ||
三阇耶说道：“至交啊！你今日与师长克利帕、克利多跋摩同力所成之事，连恒河之子毗湿摩也未能做到，迦尔那亦不能，甚至你的父亲也不能。那卑劣的统帅德利什塔丢摩那已被诛杀——并连同尸建陀因。故而今日，我确知自己可与摩伽婆（因陀罗）比肩。”
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.