Shloka 14
भीष्मरक्षण-प्रकरणम् / The Protective Screen around Bhīṣma and the Śalya–Yudhiṣṭhira Clash
को हि शक्तो रणे जेतुं पाण्डवं रभसं तदा । यस्य गोप्ता जगद्गोप्ता शड्खचक्रगदाधर:
sañjaya uvāca | ko hi śakto raṇe jetuṃ pāṇḍavaṃ rabhasaṃ tadā | yasya goptā jagadgoptā śaṅkhacakragadādharaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Who, indeed, could then defeat the impetuous Pāṇḍava in battle—him whose protector is the Protector of the whole world, the bearer of conch, discus, and mace? The verse declares that Arjuna’s might cannot be severed from Vāsudeva’s moral and cosmic guardianship; where divine protection stands with a righteous cause, mere human prowess cannot prevail.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that victory is not merely a product of physical strength; when a warrior is aligned with dharma and protected by the cosmic Lord (Vāsudeva), opposition grounded only in human power cannot truly overcome him.
Sañjaya, narrating the Kurukṣetra war to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, emphasizes Arjuna’s near-invincibility because Kṛṣṇa—described in Viṣṇu’s iconic form as the bearer of conch, discus, and mace—stands as his guardian.