Shloka 44
Duryodhana-vadha-pratikriyā: Harṣa, Nindā, and Kṛṣṇa’s Nīti-vyākhyā (Śalya-parva 60)
यस्तु कर्तास्य वैरस्थ निकृत्या निकृतिप्रिय: । सो<यं विनिहतः शेते पृथिव्यां पृथिवीपते
yastu kartāsya vairasya nikṛtyā nikṛtipriyaḥ | so 'yaṁ vinihataḥ śete pṛthivyāṁ pṛthivīpate ||
桑阇耶说道：“然而，那以诡计策动此仇怨者——以欺诈为乐者——如今已被诛杀，横卧于大地之上，噢，大地之主。于是，曲邪之谋与不合正法的权计之果，在战争的废墟之中，尽数回落到其始作俑者身上。”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores an ethical principle repeatedly affirmed in the Mahābhārata: treachery and delight in deceit (nikṛti) ultimately recoil upon the doer. Even if such tactics seem effective in the short term, they corrode dharma and culminate in ruin and disgrace.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the chief instigator of the present hostility—characterized as one who used deceit and loved deceit—has been slain and now lies on the ground. The line functions as a moral commentary on the downfall of those who foment war through crooked means.