Shloka 50
जयद्रथवधः — The Slaying of Jayadratha
Sunset Vow and Curse-Condition
ते सात्वतेन निहता: समावत्रुर्वसुंधराम् । वज्र और विद्युतकें समान कठोर स्पर्शवाले सुन्दर पर्वयुक्त बाणोंद्वारा सात्यकिके हाथसे मारे गये उन यवनोंने वहाँकी भूमिको अपनी लाशोंसे ढक लिया ।। अल्पावशिष्टा: सम्भग्ना: कृच्छुप्राणा विचेतस:,जवमुनत्तममास्थाय सर्वतः प्राद्रवन् भयात् । महाराज! थोड़े-से यवन शेष रह गये थे, जो बड़ी कठिनाईसे अपने प्राण बचाये हुए थे। वे अपने समुदायसे भ्रष्ट होकर अचेत-से हो रहे थे। उन सभी कवचधारी यवनोंको युयुधानने युद्धस्थलमें जीत लिया था। वे हाथों और कोड़ोंसे अपने घोड़ोंको पीटते हुए उत्तम वेगका आश्रय ले चारों ओर भयके मारे भाग गये
sañjaya uvāca | te sātvatenā nihatāḥ samāvṛṇvur vasuṃdharām | vajravidyut-samāna-kaṭhora-sparśa-vālaiḥ sundara-parva-yuktaiḥ bāṇaiḥ sātyaki-hastena hatā yavanāḥ tatra bhūmiṃ śavābhiḥ samācchādayan || alpāvaśiṣṭāḥ sambhagnāḥ kṛcchra-prāṇā vicetasaḥ | javaṃ munattamam āsthāya sarvataḥ prādravan bhayāt ||
Sañjaya said: Struck down by the Sātvata hero, those Yavanas covered the earth with their bodies. Slain by Sātyaki’s hand with arrows whose touch was hard like thunderbolt and lightning—beautiful shafts fitted with sharp joints—they fell there in heaps. A few Yavanas remained, broken and scattered, barely clinging to life and almost senseless. Having been overcome on the battlefield by Yuyudhāna, they lashed their horses with hands and whips, took to the greatest speed, and fled in fear in every direction.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage underscores the stark consequences of warfare: when courage collapses into fear, even armed groups scatter and flee. It also reflects the epic’s recurring ethical tension—martial excellence can be admirable as kṣatriya-duty, yet it leaves the battlefield strewn with bodies, reminding the listener of war’s heavy moral and human cost.
Sañjaya reports that Sātyaki (Yuyudhāna), the Sātvata hero, cuts down the Yavana contingent with powerful arrows. The survivors, disordered and nearly senseless, whip their horses and escape in panic in all directions.