Shloka 14
सैन्धवं मद्रराजानं राजानं च सुयोधनम् । वीरान् कृतास्त्रान् समरे सवनिवानिवर्तिन:,“नरव्याप्र! अक्षौहिणी सेनाके अधिपति, वीर, अस्त्रवेत्ता, भयंकर पराक्रमी, संगठित, रणोन्मत्त, तथा कभी पीछे न हटनेवाले भीष्म, द्रोण, कृपाचार्य, वैकर्तन कर्ण, अश्वत्थामा, भूरिश्रवा, कृतवर्मा, जयद्रथ, शल्य तथा राजा दुर्योधन-जैसे समस्त महारथियोंपर इस जगतमें तुम्हारे सिवा, दूसरा कौन पुरुष विजय पा सकता है?
saindhavaṁ madrarājānaṁ rājānaṁ ca suyodhanam | vīrān kṛtāstrān samare savanivānivartinaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “There are Jayadratha of Sindhu, the king of Madra (Śalya), and King Suyodhana (Duryodhana)—heroes, fully trained in weapons, fierce in battle, and never turning back from the fight. Over such great chariot-warriors as Bhīṣma, Droṇa, Kṛpa, Karṇa the son of the Sun, Aśvatthāmā, Bhūriśravā, Kṛtavarmā, Jayadratha, Śalya, and King Duryodhana—who else in this world, other than you, could win victory?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ideal of kṣatriya steadfastness—warriors trained in arms who do not retreat—and uses praise to stress how extraordinary it would be to overcome such a concentration of renowned fighters. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s tension between valor and the moral cost of war: excellence in battle is admired, yet it serves a destructive end.
Sañjaya describes to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the formidable Kaurava champions—Jayadratha, Śalya, Duryodhana and other famed mahārathas—emphasizing their skill and refusal to withdraw. He then poses a rhetorical question: who, besides the addressed hero (contextually a supreme warrior), could possibly defeat them?