Shalya Parva

The Mahabharata Book 9 Shalya Parvan is the Book of Shalya, the last part of the battle, with Shalya as commander.

After all the great warriors had been slain, the king of Madra became the leader of the (Kaurava) army. The encounters one after another, of charioteers, have been here described. Then comes the fall of the great Shalya at the hands of Yudhishthira, the Just. Here also is the death of Sakuni in battle at the hands of Sahadeva. Upon only a small remnant of the troops remaining alive after the immense slaughter, Duryodhana went to the lake and creating for himself room within its waters lay stretched there for some time. Then is narrated the receipt of this intelligence by Bhima from the fowlers: then is narrated how, moved by the insulting speeches of the intelligent Yudhishthira, Duryodhana ever unable to bear affronts, came out of the waters. Then comes the encounter with clubs, between Duryodhana and Bhima; then the arrival, at the time of such encounter, of Balarama: then is described the sacredness of the Saraswati; then the progress of the encounter with clubs; then the fracture of Duryodhana's thighs in battle by Bhima with (a terrific hurl of) his mace. These all have been described in the wonderful ninth Parva. In this the number of sections is fifty-nine and the number of slokas composed by the great Vyasa--the spreader of the fame of the Kauravas--is three thousand, two hundred and twenty.

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