Shloka 3
शकुनिवधः — Sahadeva’s Slaying of Śakuni
with Ulūka’s fall
शत्रवों हतभूयिष्ठा ज्ञातय: परिपालिता: । गृहीत्वा संजयं चासौ निवृत्त: शिनिपुड्भव:
sañjaya uvāca |
śatravo hatabhūyiṣṭhā jñātayaḥ paripālitāḥ |
gṛhītvā sañjayaṃ cāsau nivṛttaḥ śinipuḍbhavaḥ |
Dijo Sañjaya: «Oh Bhārata, la mayoría de los guerreros enemigos ha sido abatida, y nuestros propios parientes han sido protegidos. Y mira: Sātyaki, el más eminente de los Śinis, ha apresado a Sañjaya y regresa ahora llevándolo consigo».
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a battlefield ethic central to kṣatriya-dharma: the aim is not mere destruction but securing one’s side—protecting one’s own people while neutralizing hostile forces. It also shows that war includes restraint and control (taking a captive) alongside killing.
Sañjaya reports that the enemy has suffered heavy losses and that their own kinsmen have been safeguarded. He then points out that Sātyaki, a leading warrior of the Śini clan, has captured a man named Sañjaya and is returning with him as a prisoner.