Shloka 18
कृपदु:शासनाभ्यां च जयद्रथमुखैस्तथा । भगदत्तविकर्णाभ्यां द्रौणिसौबलबाह्विकैः,द्रोणाचार्य, भीष्म, कृतवर्मा, कृपाचार्य, दुःशासन, जयद्रथ, भगदत्त, विकर्ण, अश्वत्थामा, शकुनि तथा बाह्लिक आदि प्रमुख वीरों तथा अन्य शक्तिशाली महामनस्वी लोगोंद्वारा मेरी सेना सदा सुरक्षित रहती है। ऐसी सेना भी यदि संग्राममें मारी गयी तो इसमें हमलोगोंका पुरातन प्रारब्ध ही कारण है
kṛpaduryodhanābhyāṃ ca jayadrathamukhais tathā | bhagadattavikarṇābhyāṃ drauṇisaubalabāhlikaiḥ ||
Sañjaya dijo: «Mi ejército es protegido sin cesar por campeones poderosos: por Kṛpa y Duryodhana, y también por Jayadratha y los demás; por Bhagadatta y Vikarṇa; y por Aśvatthāman, Śakuni y Bāhlika. Y, sin embargo, si incluso una hueste así custodiada está siendo segada en la batalla, la causa ha de ser nuestro antiguo destino ya maduro.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when one has strong external supports—powerful allies, strategy, and protection—outcomes in the Mahābhārata are repeatedly framed as shaped by prior karma and ripened destiny; this reflection also hints at the moral weight of earlier choices that culminate in unavoidable consequences.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Kaurava host is guarded by renowned champions (Kṛpa, Duryodhana, Jayadratha, Bhagadatta, Vikarṇa, Aśvatthāmā, Śakuni, Bāhlika). Yet despite such protection, the army is being destroyed in battle, which he attributes to long-standing fate.