Shloka 21
रथबन्धमिमं घोर पृथिव्यां नास्ति कश्नन । यः सहेत पुमॉल्लोके मदन्यो यदुपुजड्गव,“यदुपुंगव! जगत्में इस भूतलपर मेरे सिवा दूसरा कोई ऐसा पुरुष नहीं है, जो इस भयानक रथबन्ध (रथकी पकड़ अथवा रथोंके घेरे)-का सामना कर सके”
sañjaya uvāca | rathabandham imaṃ ghoraṃ pṛthivyāṃ nāsti kaścana | yaḥ saheta pumāṃl loke madanyo yadu-puṅgava ||
Sañjaya said: “O best of the Yadus, on this earth there is no man who could withstand this dreadful ‘ratha-bandha’—this tight grasp and encirclement of chariots—other than me.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the Kshatriya ideal of steadfastness under extreme pressure: the ability to endure and counter formidable battle-formations. It also reflects how martial confidence and reputation function as moral capital in epic warfare—courage is presented as a defining virtue, though it can shade into pride.
In the midst of the Karna Parva battle account, the speaker (Sanjaya) describes a terrifying chariot-encirclement tactic (ratha-bandha) and declares that no one on earth except himself could withstand it, addressing the listener as “best of the Yadus.”