Shloka 11
सैन्धवविक्रमवर्णनम् / Description of Jayadratha’s Martial Display
सिंधुराजमें ऐसे बल और शौर्यका होना मैं अत्यन्त आश्चर्यकी बात मानता हूँ। महामना जयद्रथके बल और श्रेष्ठ पराक्रमका मुझसे विस्तारपूर्वक वर्णन करो ।। किं दत्तं हुतमिष्टं वा कि सुतप्तमथो तप: । सिंधुराजो हि येनैक: पाण्डवान् समवारयत्,अभ्यद्रवन् परीप्सन्तो व्यूढानीका: प्रहारिण: । संजयने कहा--राजन! युधिष्ठिर, भीमसेन, शिखण्डी, सात्यकि, नकुल-सहदेव, धष्टद्युम्न, विराट, द्रपद, केकय-राजकुमार, रोषमें भरा हुआ धृष्टकेतु तथा मत्स्यदेशीय योद्धा --ये सब-के-सब युद्धस्थलमें आगे बढ़े। अभिमन्युके ताऊ, चाचा तथा मामागण अपनी सेनाको व्यूहद्वारा संगठित करके प्रहार करनेके लिये उद्यत हो अभिमन्युकी रक्षाके लिये उसीके बनाये हुए मार्गसे व्यूहमें जानेके उद्देश्यसे एक साथ दौड़ पड़े सिंधुराजने कौन-सा ऐसा दान, होम, यज्ञ अथवा उत्तम तप किया था, जिससे वह अकेला ही समस्त पाण्डवोंको रोकनेमें समर्थ हो सका
sañjaya uvāca | kiṁ dattaṁ hutam iṣṭaṁ vā kiṁ sutaptam atho tapaḥ | sindhurājo hi yenāikaḥ pāṇḍavān samavārayat | abhyadravan parīpsanto vyūḍhānīkāḥ prahāriṇaḥ ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “That the king of Sindhu should possess such strength and valor seems to me most astonishing. Describe to me in full, O great-souled one, Jayadratha’s power and his finest feat. What gift did he give, what oblation did he offer, what sacrifice (yajña) did he perform, or what fierce austerity (tapas) did he practice—by which the king of Sindhu, all alone, was able to hold back the Pāṇḍavas?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a Mahābhārata theme: extraordinary worldly power in a critical moment is often interpreted as the ripened fruit of prior merit—charity (dāna), ritual offering (homa/yajña), and austerity (tapas). It invites reflection on how past ethical and religious actions can shape present capability, even within morally fraught warfare.
As the Pāṇḍava warriors surge forward in battle formation to strike and press their objective, Jayadratha, the king of Sindhu, manages to check them single-handedly. Sañjaya, reporting to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, expresses astonishment and asks what prior acts—gifts, sacrifices, or austerities—could explain Jayadratha’s ability to restrain them.