Shloka 6
Jarā’s Account and the Enthronement of Jarāsandha (जरासंधोत्पत्तिः अभिषेकश्च)
ते वयं नयमास्थाय शत्र॒ुदेहसमीपगा: । कथमन्तं न गच्छेम वृक्षस्थेव नदीरया: । पररन्ध्रे पराक्रान्ता: स्वरन्ध्रावरणे स्थिता:
te vayaṁ nayam āsthāya śatrudeha-samīpagāḥ | katham antaṁ na gacchema vṛkṣastheva nadīrayāḥ | pararandhre parākrāntāḥ svarandhrāvaraṇe sthitāḥ |
Vāyu-deva said: “If we, adhering to prudent strategy, can draw close to the enemy’s very body, why should we not bring him to his end—just as the rush of a river uproots a tree standing on its bank? Concealing our own weak points, we shall watch for the enemy’s vulnerabilities; and when the moment comes, we will strike that opening with decisive force.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse advocates nīti (prudent strategy): protect one’s own vulnerabilities while identifying and exploiting the opponent’s weak points, striking decisively when conditions are favorable.
Vāyu-deva speaks in a counsel-like tone, urging a tactical approach against an enemy—drawing close, concealing one’s own weaknesses, and attacking the enemy’s exposed ‘opening’ at the right moment, illustrated by the metaphor of a river’s force destroying a tree.