Shloka 6
Jayadrathasya śoka-bhaya-vilāpaḥ — Droṇena āśvāsanaṃ ca
Jayadratha’s lament and Droṇa’s reassurance
“मैंने युद्धस्थलमें उससे कहा था कि तुम व्यूहमें हमारे प्रवेशके लिये द्वार बना दो। तब वह द्वार बनाकर भीतर प्रविष्ट हो गया और जब हमलोग उसी द्वारसे व्यूहमें प्रवेश करने लगे, उस समय सिंधुराज जयद्रथने हमें रोक दिया ।। ननु नाम समं युद्धमेष्टव्यं युद्धजीविभि: । इदं चैवासमं युद्धमीदृशं यत् कृतं परै:,'युद्धजीवी क्षत्रियोंको अपने समान साधनसम्पन्न वीरके साथ युद्ध करनेकी इच्छा करनी चाहिये। शत्रुओंने जो अभिमन्युके साथ इस प्रकार युद्ध किया है, यह कदापि समान नहीं है
sañjaya uvāca | mayā yuddhasthale tasmai proktaṃ yad yūyaṃ vyūhe ’smākaṃ praveśāya dvāraṃ kuruta | sa dvāraṃ kṛtvāntar praviṣṭaḥ | atha vayam api tenaiva dvāreṇa vyūhaṃ praveṣṭum ārabdhāḥ, tasmin kāle sindhurājo jayadratho ’smān avārayat || nanu nāma samaṃ yuddham iṣṭavyaṃ yuddhajīvibhiḥ | idaṃ caivāsamaṃ yuddham īdṛśaṃ yat kṛtaṃ paraiḥ | yuddhajīvinaḥ kṣatriyāḥ samasādhana-sampannena vīreṇa saha yoddhum iccheyuḥ | śatrubhiḥ abhimanyunā saha yathā yuddhaṃ kṛtaṃ, tad idaṃ kadāpi samaṃ na bhavati ||
Sanjaya said: “On the battlefield I had told him, ‘Make a gate in the battle-formation so that we may enter.’ He made an opening and went inside. When we too began to enter the formation through that very gate, at that moment Jayadratha, the king of Sindhu, stopped us. Surely those who live by war should desire a fair fight—combat between equals. But what the enemy has done in this manner is not fair warfare at all. Kshatriyas who stake their life on battle ought to fight a hero equipped like themselves; the way they have fought against Abhimanyu can never be called equal.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage asserts a kshatriya ethic: warfare should be 'sama'—a contest between comparably equipped and capable warriors. To attack a lone or disadvantaged hero with unequal means is condemned as 'asama yuddha' (unfair combat), violating the moral expectations of warrior-dharma.
Sanjaya recounts that an opening (gate) was made in the enemy formation for entry; the one addressed entered through it. When the others attempted to follow through the same opening, Jayadratha blocked them. This obstruction contributes to the isolation of Abhimanyu, and Sanjaya criticizes the enemy’s conduct as an unequal, unethical mode of fighting against him.