Shloka 18
Dvārakā’s Distress and the Saubha Engagement (द्वारकाव्यग्रता तथा सौभयुद्धम्)
बलदेवो महाबाहुः कच्चिज्जीवति शत्रुहा । सात्यकी रौक्मिणेयश्व चारुदेष्णश्न वीर्यवान्,क्या शत्रुहन्ता महाबली बलरामजी जीवित हैं? क्या सात्यकि, रुक्मिणीनन्दन प्रद्युम्न, महाबली चारुदेष्ण तथा साम्ब आदि जीवन धारण करते हैं? इन बातोंका विचार करते- करते मेरा मन बहुत उदास हो गया। नरश्रेष्ठ! इन वीरोंके जीते-जी साक्षात् इन्द्र भी मेरे पिता वसुदेवजीको किसी प्रकार मार नहीं सकते थे। अवश्य ही शूरनन्दन वसुदेवजी मारे गये और यह भी स्पष्ट है कि बलरामजी आदि सभी प्रमुख वीर प्राणत्याग कर चुके हैं--यह मेरा निश्चित विचार हो गया। महाराज! इस प्रकार सबके विनाशका बारंबार चिन्तन करके भी मैं व्याकुल न होकर राजा शाल्वसे पुन: युद्ध करने लगा
baladevo mahābāhuḥ kaccij jīvati śatruhā | sātyakī raukmiṇeyaś ca cārudeṣṇaś ca vīryavān ||
Vāyu said: “Does mighty-armed Baladeva, the slayer of foes, still live? And do Sātyaki, Rukmiṇī’s son (Pradyumna), and the valiant Cārudeṣṇa yet sustain their lives?” As he turned these thoughts over and over, his mind grew heavy with grief. For while such heroes lived, not even Indra himself could have found a way to kill my father Vasudeva. Therefore I have come to a grim certainty: surely Vasudeva, the son of Śūra, has been slain—and it is plain that Baladeva and the other foremost warriors have also abandoned their lives. Yet, O King, even while repeatedly contemplating this ruin of all, I did not collapse into helpless agitation; I returned again to battle against King Śālva.
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid crushing uncertainty and grief, a warrior is urged to uphold steadiness and duty: sorrow may arise, but one should not be paralyzed by it; resolve and righteous action must continue.
Vāyu voices anxious questions about whether key Vṛṣṇi heroes—Baladeva, Sātyaki, Pradyumna, and Cārudeṣṇa—are still alive. Reasoning that Vasudeva could not have been killed while such protectors lived, he concludes that Vasudeva and the foremost warriors must have fallen, yet he continues fighting King Śālva.