Shloka 3
द्रोणकर्णयोः निशि संप्रहारः — Night Engagement with Droṇa and Karṇa
चोदयाश्वान् भृशं कृष्ण यतो राजा जयद्रथ: । श्रूयते पुण्डरीकाक्ष त्रिषु धर्मेषु वर्तते,“श्रीकृष्ण! जिस ओर राजा जयद्रथ खड़ा है, उसी ओर अब इन घोड़ोंको शीघ्रतापूर्वक हॉकिये। कमलनयन! सुना जाता है कि वह इस समय तीन धर्मोमें विद्यमान है। निष्पाप केशव! मेरी प्रतिज्ञा आप सफल करें। महाबाहो! सूर्यदेव तीव्रणतिसे अस्ताचलकी ओर जा रहे हैं
codayāśvān bhṛśaṃ kṛṣṇa yato rājā jayadrathaḥ | śrūyate puṇḍarīkākṣa triṣu dharmeṣu vartate ||
Sañjaya said: “Drive the horses hard and swiftly, O Kṛṣṇa, toward the side where King Jayadratha stands. O lotus-eyed one, it is said that at this moment he abides within the threefold bounds of dharma.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid battle, action is framed through dharma: the verse highlights that a warrior-king is expected to operate within recognized moral constraints (“three dharmas”), and strategy is evaluated in relation to those constraints.
Sañjaya reports an urgent instruction to Kṛṣṇa to drive the chariot quickly toward Jayadratha’s position, noting that Jayadratha is presently said to be situated within a ‘threefold’ dharmic condition—an important tactical and ethical detail in the surrounding war episode.