Shloka 26
अर्जुनस्य गुरुधर्मविलापः तथा शैनेयकर्णयोर्युद्धारम्भः | Arjuna’s Lament on Guru-Dharma and the Opening of the Sātyaki–Karṇa Duel
रथनागाश्वकलिल: पदात्यूमिसमाकुल: । शैनेयवेलामासाद्य स्थित: सैन्यमहार्णव:,रथ, हाथी और घोड़ोंसे भरी तथा पैदलरूपी लहरोंसे व्याप्त हुई आपकी सागर-सदृश सेना सात्यकिरूपी तटभूमिके समीप आकर अवरुद्ध हो गयी
rathanāgāśvakalilaḥ padātyūmisamākulaḥ | śaineyavelām āsādya sthitaḥ sainyamahārṇavaḥ ||
Sañjaya sprach: „Dein Heer, einem Ozean gleich—dicht von Wagen, Elefanten und Pferden und wogend von den wellenartigen Massen der Fußsoldaten—erreichte das Ufer, das Śaineya (Sātyaki) war, und stand dort aufgehalten, sein Vorrücken gehemmt.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches, through a powerful simile, that sheer numbers and might can be halted by steadfast resolve aligned with duty: a single principled defender can become a ‘shore’ that limits the surge of an overwhelming force.
Sañjaya describes the Kaurava host as a vast ocean of chariots, elephants, horses, and infantry. As it advances, it reaches Sātyaki (Śaineya), who functions like a shoreline, stopping and constraining the army’s forward movement.