Mahabharata 7.149.71 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 149, Shloka 71
अलंबलवधः (Alaṃbala-vadhaḥ) / The Slaying of Alaṃbala and the Advance toward Karṇa
दुःशासनमुखान् वीरान् नावधीत् सात्यकिर्वशी । रक्षन् प्रतिज्ञां भीमेन पार्थेन च पुराकृताम्
sañjaya uvāca |
duḥśāsanamukhān vīrān nāvadhīt sātyakir vaśī |
rakṣan pratijñāṃ bhīmena pārthena ca purākṛtām, rājan ||
Sañjaya sprach: Sātyaki, der sich selbst bezwingt, erschlug die Helden unter der Führung Duḥśāsanas nicht. O König, er hielt sich zurück, um das einst von Bhīma und Pārtha (Arjuna) abgelegte Gelübde zu wahren und zu schützen, und ließ jene verheißenen Feinde ihnen, damit sie selbst ihren Schwur erfüllten — innerhalb der Schranken des Dharma im Krieg.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in a righteous war, ethical restraint matters: Sātyaki chooses not to take a victory that would violate the moral economy of vows, preserving Bhīma’s and Arjuna’s pledged responsibility to complete what they had sworn.
Sañjaya reports to the king that Sātyaki, though capable, does not kill Duḥśāsana and other prominent Kaurava warriors, because he is intentionally safeguarding the earlier vows of Bhīma and Arjuna—leaving those foes for them to confront as promised.
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