Shloka 15
धृतराष्ट्र-संजय-संवादः — सैन्यप्रशंसा, भेदनवृत्तान्त-प्रश्नः
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Sañjaya Dialogue: Praise of the Host and Inquiry after the Breach
“राजन! तुम, भूरिश्रवा, महारथी कर्ण, अश्व॒त्थामा, शल्य, वृषसेन तथा कृपाचार्य, एक लाख घुड़सवार, साठ हजार रथ, चौदह हजार मदस्रावी गजराज तथा इकक््कीस हजार कवचधारी पैदल सैनिकोंको साथ लेकर मुझसे छ: कोसकी दूरीपर जाकर डटे रहो ।। १२ -१४ || तत्रस्थं त्वां न संसोदुं शक्ता देवा: सवासवा: | कि पुन: पाण्डवा: सर्वे समाश्वसिहि सैन्धव,'सिंधुराज! वहाँ रहनेपर इन्द्र आदि सम्पूर्ण देवता भी तुम्हारा सामना नहीं कर सकते; फिर समस्त पाण्डव तो कर ही कैसे सकते हैं? अतः तुम धैर्य धारण करो”
sañjaya uvāca |
"rājan! tvaṁ bhūriśravā mahārathaḥ karṇa aśvatthāmā śalya vṛṣasena tathā kṛpācāryaś ca—eka-lakṣa-aśvārūḍhaiḥ ṣaṣṭi-sahasra-rathaiś caturdaśa-sahasra-mada-srāvi-gajarājaiḥ ekaviṁśati-sahasra-kavaca-dhāri-pada-sainikaiś ca sārdhaṁ mayā saha ṣaṭ-krośa-dūre gatvā tatraiva tiṣṭha ||
tatra-sthaṁ tvāṁ na saṁsoḍhuṁ śaktā devāḥ savāsavāḥ |
kiṁ punaḥ pāṇḍavāḥ sarve |
samāśvasihi saindhava, sindhu-rāja!"
Sañjaya said: “O King! You—Bhūrishravā, the great chariot-warrior Karṇa, Aśvatthāmā, Śalya, Vṛṣasena, and Kṛpācārya—together with one hundred thousand horsemen, sixty thousand chariots, fourteen thousand rut-maddened lordly elephants, and twenty-one thousand armoured foot-soldiers, go with me to a distance of six krośas and hold your ground there. Stationed there, even the gods with Indra at their head are not able to withstand you—how much less all the Pāṇḍavas! Therefore, take heart, O Saindhava, king of Sindhu.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how commanders use praise and hyperbole to steady an ally’s mind in crisis: confidence and firmness of position are presented as decisive in battle, even while the claim of invincibility implicitly warns against pride and overreliance on numbers.
Sanjaya reports a directive meant to bolster Jayadratha (Saindhava): he is told to take a strong combined force—named senior warriors plus large cavalry, chariots, elephants, and infantry—move six krośas away, and hold that position, being assured that even the gods could scarcely oppose him there, let alone the Pāṇḍavas.