Shloka 19
सैन्धवविक्रमवर्णनम् / Description of Jayadratha’s Martial Display
वारयिष्यसि संग्रामे चतुरः पाण्डुनन्दनान् । एवमस्त्विति देवेशमुक्त्वाबुद्धात पार्थिव:,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 'प्रभो! मैं युद्धमें भयंकर बल-पराक्रमसे सम्पन्न समस्त पाण्डवोंको अकेला ही रथके द्वारा परास्त करके आगे बढ़नेसे रोक दूँ"। भारत! उसके ऐसा कहनेपर देवेश्वर भगवान् शिवने जयद्रथसे कहा--'सौम्य! मैं तुम्हें वर देता हूँ। तुम कुन्तीपुत्र अर्जुनको छोड़कर शेष चार पाण्डवोंको (एक दिन) युद्धमें आगे बढ़नेसे रोक दोगे।” तब देवेश्वर महादेवसे “एवमस्तु' कहकर राजा जयद्रथ जाग उठा
sañjaya uvāca |
vārayiṣyasi saṅgrāme caturaḥ pāṇḍunandanān |
evam astv iti deveśam uktvābuddhāta pārthivaḥ, abhyadravan parīpsanto vyūḍhānīkāḥ prahāriṇaḥ |
Sañjaya said: “You will hold back the four sons of Pāṇḍu in battle.” Having thus addressed the Lord of the gods, the king awoke and assented, saying, “So be it.” Then the warriors—having arrayed their forces in battle-formation and intent on striking—rushed forward together, seeking to enter the formation by the very path that had been made. The episode frames a moral tension typical of the war: divine boons and tactical prowess are invoked not for peace, but to obstruct and isolate opponents on the battlefield, intensifying the ethical cost of victory.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how divine favor and human strategy can be harnessed toward violent ends, underscoring the Mahābhārata’s recurring ethical question: even when power is granted or tactics succeed, the moral burden of using them to obstruct and destroy remains.
Śiva grants (or confirms) a boon that the king will be able to hold back four Pāṇḍavas in battle; the king assents on waking. Immediately, battle-ready warriors with formations arranged charge forward, aiming to enter the formation through a specific opening/path—setting up the tactical isolation central to the surrounding episode.