Shloka 41

शैनेयचरितम्

The Exploits of Śaineya/Sātyaki amid Encirclement

Devanagari script

अमर्षशील शूरवीर दुःशासनने अपनी भागती हुई सेनाको पुनः स्थिरतापूर्वक स्थापित करके कुपित हो युद्धस्थलमें रथियोंमें श्रेष्ठ सात्यकिपर आक्रमण किया ।। स्वकेनाहमनीकेन संनद्ध: कवचावृत: । चतुःशतैर्महेष्वासै श्वेकितानमवारयम्‌,अपनी सेना तथा चार सौ महाथधनुर्धरोंक साथ कवच धारण करके सुसज्जित हो मैंने चेकितानको रोका

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

svakenāham anīkena saṃnaddhaḥ kavacāvṛtaḥ |

catūḥśatair maheṣvāsaiś cekitānam avārayam ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Armoured and fully equipped, I—supported by my own division and accompanied by four hundred great bowmen—checked Cekitāna’s advance. The passage underscores the hardening of resolve on the battlefield: disciplined regrouping and forceful resistance are presented as tactical necessities, even as they intensify the moral weight of violence in a fratricidal war.

Word by Word

• {'sañjaya uvāca': 'Sañjaya said', 'svakena': 'with one’s own

• by one’s own', 'aham': 'I', 'anīkena': 'with an army division/formation', 'saṃnaddhaḥ': 'armed, fully equipped, ready for battle', 'kavacāvṛtaḥ': 'covered with armour

• armoured', 'catūḥśataiḥ': 'with four hundred', 'maheṣvāsaiḥ': 'great bowmen

• mighty archers', 'cekitānam': 'Cekitāna (proper name)', 'avārayam': 'I checked, restrained, blocked, held back'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Cekitāna
• anīka (army division)
• kavaca (armour)
• maheṣvāsa (great bowmen/archers)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights battlefield discipline and resolve: a commander’s readiness (armour, formation, supporting archers) enables him to restrain an opponent. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s tension between necessary martial duty and the escalating cost of violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya narrates that he, armoured and supported by his own troop formation and four hundred expert archers, halted Cekitāna’s movement—describing a tactical check in the ongoing combat of Droṇa Parva.