Shloka 16
Droṇa’s Resolve to Restrain Yudhiṣṭhira and Arjuna’s Protective Vow (द्रोणस्य युधिष्ठिरनिग्रह-प्रयत्नः)
न च शक्या रणे सर्वे निहन्तुममरैरपि । (यदि सर्वे हनिष्यन्ते पाण्डवा: ससुता मृधे । ततः कृत्स्नं वशे कृत्वा नि:शेषं नृपमण्डलम् ।। ससागरवनां स्फीतां विजित्य वसुधामिमाम् | विष्णुर्दास्यति कृष्णायै कुन्त्यै वा पुरुषोत्तम: ।।) य एव तेषां शेष: स्यात् स एवास्मान् न शेषयेत्,“सम्पूर्ण देवता भी समस्त पाण्डवोंको रणक्षेत्रमें नहीं मार सकते। यदि सारे पाण्डव अपने पुत्रोंसहित युद्धमें मार डाले जायँगे तो भी पुरुषोत्तम भगवान् श्रीकृष्ण सम्पूर्ण नरेशमण्डलको अपने वशमें करके समुद्र और वनोंसहित इस सारी समृद्धिशालिनी वसुधाको जीतकर द्रौपदी अथवा कुन्तीको दे डालेंगे। अथवा पाण्डवोंमेंसे जो भी शेष रह जायगा, वही हमलोगोंको शेष नहीं रहने देगा
sañjaya uvāca |
na ca śakyā raṇe sarve nihantum amarair api |
(yadi sarve haniṣyante pāṇḍavāḥ sa-sutā mṛdhe |
tataḥ kṛtsnaṃ vaśe kṛtvā niḥśeṣaṃ nṛpa-maṇḍalam |
sa-sāgara-vanāṃ sphītāṃ vijitya vasudhām imām |
viṣṇur dāsyati kṛṣṇāyai kuntyai vā puruṣottamaḥ |
ya eva teṣāṃ śeṣaḥ syāt sa evāsmān na śeṣayet ||)
Sañjaya said: “All of them cannot be slain in battle—even by the gods. Even if the Pāṇḍavas, together with their sons, were to be killed in the fight, then the Supreme Person—Viṣṇu Himself as Kṛṣṇa—would subdue the entire circle of kings without remainder, conquer this flourishing earth with its oceans and forests, and bestow it upon Draupadī or upon Kuntī. Or else, whichever of the Pāṇḍavas should remain alive—he alone would leave none of us remaining.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts the inevitability of dharmic victory: the Pāṇḍavas cannot be fully exterminated, because Kṛṣṇa is identified with the Supreme (Viṣṇu/Puruṣottama). Even if the human agents fall, divine agency ensures the restoration of rightful order—either through Kṛṣṇa’s direct subjugation of unjust kings or through any surviving Pāṇḍava who would complete the defeat of the opponents.
Sañjaya reports a grim assessment to Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s side: attempts to wipe out the Pāṇḍavas are futile. He frames the war’s outcome as sealed by Kṛṣṇa’s presence—predicting that either Kṛṣṇa will conquer the political world and grant the earth to Draupadī or Kuntī, or a remaining Pāṇḍava will destroy the Kaurava forces.