Shloka 42
शकुनिस्तु सहानीको माद्रीपुत्रमवारयत् । गान्धारकै:ः सप्तशतैश्लापशक्त्यसिपाणिशभि:,सेनासहित शकुनिने माद्रीपुत्र नकुलका प्रतिरोध किया। उसके साथ हाथोंमें धनुष, शक्ति और तलवार लिये सात सौ गान्धार-देशीय योद्धा मौजूद थे
śakunistu sahānīko mādrīputram avārayat | gāndhārakaiḥ saptśataiḥ śarāpaśaktyasipāṇibhiḥ ||
قال سنجيا: إن شكوني، مسنوداً بفرقته، أوقف ابن مادري (ناكولا). وكان معه سبعمائة من محاربي غاندھارا يحملون السهام والرماح والسيوف—مقاومة منظّمة لصدّ تقدّم ناكولا وسط الفوضى الأخلاقية للحرب.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, personal valor is met by organized force and strategy; it implicitly underscores the Kṣatriya world where resistance and counter-resistance are expected, even as the larger conflict tests dharma through alliances, tactics, and the escalation of violence.
Sañjaya reports that Śakuni confronts and restrains Nakula’s advance, doing so with a supporting detachment—seven hundred Gandhāra fighters armed with arrows, spears, and swords—forming a concentrated defensive/offensive block against Nakula.