Shloka 21
द्रोणकर्णयोः निशि संप्रहारः — Night Engagement with Droṇa and Karṇa
द्रौणिना रक्ष्यमाणं च मया दुःशासनेन च । कथं प्राप्स्यति बीभत्सु: सैन्धवं कालचोदितः
drauṇinā rakṣyamāṇaṃ ca mayā duḥśāsanena ca | kathaṃ prāpsyati bībhatsuḥ saindhavaṃ kālacoditaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “When Jayadratha is being guarded by Drauni (Aśvatthāman), by me, and by Duḥśāsana as well, how will the terrible Arjuna—driven on by fate and the pressure of time—ever reach the Sindhu prince?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between human planning and the pressure of kāla (time/fate): even strong defensive arrangements can be challenged by a determined agent driven by urgent circumstance. It also underscores how, in war, confidence in protection can become moral blindness when defending an unjust cause.
Sañjaya describes the Kaurava side’s confidence that Jayadratha is securely protected by Aśvatthāman, Duḥśāsana, and Sañjaya himself, and questions how Arjuna could possibly break through to reach Jayadratha—whom Arjuna is urgently pursuing.