Shloka 19
को हि द्रोणं च भीष्मं च भगदत्तं च मारिष,प्रयाहि शीघ्र॑ गोविन्द सूतपुत्रजिघांसया । “गोविन्द! अब मेरा रथ तैयार हो। उसमें पुनः उत्तम घोड़े जोते जायँ और मेरे उस विशाल रथमें सब प्रकारके अस्त्र-शस्त्र सजाकर रख दिये जायाँ। अअभ्वारोहियोंद्वारा सिखलाये और टहलाये गये घोड़े रथसम्बन्धी उपकरणोंसे सुसज्जित हो शीघ्र यहाँ आवें और आप सूतपुत्रके वधकी इच्छासे जल्दी ही यहाँसे प्रस्थान कीजिये”
sañjaya uvāca | ko hi droṇaṃ ca bhīṣmaṃ ca bhagadattaṃ ca māriṣa, prayāhi śīghraṃ govinda sūtaputra-jighāṃsayā ||
Sañjaya said: “O revered one, who could stand against Droṇa and Bhīṣma, and Bhagadatta as well? Go forth quickly, O Govinda, with the resolve to slay the charioteer’s son.” In the war’s moral air, the line joins urgency to strategic necessity: it presses Kṛṣṇa (Govinda) to act decisively against Karṇa, deemed a grave threat, while invoking the daunting stature of earlier champions—an ethical tension between protecting one’s own and the relentless escalation of violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the wartime ethic of decisive action under dharma as understood by the combatants: when a formidable threat is perceived, delay is treated as moral and strategic failure. It also implicitly shows the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension—duty to protect one’s side can drive escalating violence, even as the narrative invites reflection on the cost of such necessity.
Sañjaya reports an urgent exhortation addressed to Govinda (Kṛṣṇa), pressing him to depart quickly with the intent to kill Karṇa (called ‘sūtaputra’). The speaker underscores the gravity of the battlefield by invoking renowned warriors—Droṇa, Bhīṣma, and Bhagadatta—framing Karṇa’s elimination as an immediate strategic priority.