Shloka 6
योगैरपि हता यैस्ते तन््मे शूणु धनंजय । अजय्या हि विना योगैर्म॒धे ते दैवतैरपि,धनंजय! वे जिन उपायोंसे मारे गये हैं, उन्हें बतलाता हूँ, मुझसे सुनो। बिना उपाय किये तो उन्हें युद्धमें देवता भी नहीं जीत सकते थे
śrīvāyudeva uvāca |
yogair api hatā yais te tan me śṛṇu dhanaṃjaya |
ajayyā hi vinā yogair madhe te daivatair api dhanaṃjaya ||
Śrī Vāyudeva said: “Hear from me, O Dhanaṃjaya, by what stratagems they were brought down. For without employing such measures, they were in battle truly unconquerable—even by the gods themselves, O Dhanaṃjaya.”
श्रीवायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that overwhelming power alone does not decide victory; deliberate upāya (means/stratagem) is decisive. It also raises an ethical tension central to the epic: when opponents are ‘unconquerable’ by straightforward combat, victory may depend on exceptional measures, prompting reflection on dharma in war.
Vāyudeva addresses Arjuna (Dhanaṃjaya) and prepares to explain the specific methods by which certain formidable warriors were defeated. He emphasizes that without such tactical measures they could not have been overcome in battle, not even by divine beings.