Shloka 5
Saṃśaptakas in Candrārdha-vyūha; Arjuna’s Devadatta and the Traigarta Rout
Chapter 17
अपनीते तु योगेन केनचिच्छवेतवाहने । तत एष्यति मे राजन् वशमेष युधिष्ठिर:,“राजन्! यदि किसी उपायसे श्वेतवाहन अर्जुन दूर हटा दिये जाय॑ँ तो ये राजा युधिष्छिर मेरे वशमें आ जायँगे
apanīte tu yogena kenacit śvetavāhane | tata eṣyati me rājan vaśam eṣa yudhiṣṭhiraḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, if by some stratagem the White-horsed one (Arjuna) can be drawn away, then this Yudhiṣṭhira will come under my control.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how the removal of a single dharmic protector can shift the balance of power, raising an ethical tension between righteous conduct and expedient stratagems in war.
Sañjaya reports a plan to Dhṛtarāṣṭra: if Arjuna (the ‘White-horsed’ warrior) is lured or forced away, Yudhiṣṭhira will become vulnerable and can be brought under the enemy’s control.