Shloka 7
Abhimanyu-śravaṇa-prastāva and Cakravyūha-vinyāsa
Prelude to Abhimanyu’s Account and the Wheel-Formation Deployment
नूनं वयं वध्यपक्षे भवतो द्विजसत्तम । तथा हि नाग्रही: प्राप्तं समीपेडद्य युधिष्ठिरम्,द्विजश्रेष्ठ! निश्चय ही हमलोग आपकी दृष्टिमें शत्रुवर्गके अन्तर्गत हैं। यही कारण है कि आज आपने अत्यन्त निकट आनेपर भी राजा युधिष्ठिरको नहीं पकड़ा है
nūnaṁ vayaṁ vadhya-pakṣe bhavato dvija-sattama | tathā hi nāgrahīḥ prāptaṁ samīpe ’dya yudhiṣṭhiram ||
Sañjaya said: “Surely we stand among those whom you deem fit to be slain, O best of twice-born. For that is why, even though King Yudhiṣṭhira came within your very reach today, you did not seize him.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension in warfare: even when strategy demands capturing a key opponent, personal loyalties, moral hesitation, or perceived partiality can restrain action. It points to how dharma in battle is complicated by human bonds and inner judgments about who is ‘to be slain’ or spared.
Sañjaya remarks to a revered brāhmaṇa-warrior (addressed as dvija-sattama) that Yudhiṣṭhira came very close on the battlefield, yet was not captured. Sañjaya infers that this restraint implies the speaker views ‘us’ as belonging to the side marked for death, and therefore chose not to take Yudhiṣṭhira despite the opportunity.