Shloka 42
शैनेयचरितम्
The Exploits of Śaineya/Sātyaki amid Encirclement
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 ||
Sañjaya sprach: Śakuni, gestützt auf sein eigenes Kontingent, hielt Mādrīs Sohn (Nakula) auf. Bei ihm standen siebenhundert Krieger aus Gandhāra, mit Pfeilen, Speeren und Schwertern bewaffnet — ein geordnetes Aufgebot, um Nakulas Vormarsch inmitten des moralischen Chaos des Krieges zu stoppen.
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.