Shloka 15
Sainyavinyāsa–Lakṣaṇa (Disposition of Armies and Battlefield Omens) | सैन्यविन्यास–लक्षणम्
संशप्तकानामयुतं रथानां मृत्युर्जयो वार्जुनस्येति सृष्टा: । येनार्जुनस्तेन राजन् कृतास्त्रा: प्रयातारस्ते त्रिगर्ताश्न शूरा:
saṃśaptakānām ayutaṃ rathānāṃ mṛtyur jayo vārjunasye ti sṛṣṭāḥ | yenārjunas tena rājan kṛtāstrāḥ prayātāras te trigartāś ca śūrāḥ ||
Sañjaya dit : «Ô roi, dix mille guerriers de char des Saṃśaptakas, après avoir fait le vœu : “La mort ou la victoire sur Arjuna”, se mirent en marche. Ces héros de Trigarta, experts en armes, avancèrent droit vers le côté où se trouvait Arjuna.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the binding power of a warrior’s vow and the kṣatriya ideal of staking one’s life for a chosen objective—here, the Saṃśaptakas’ pledge of “victory over Arjuna or death,” showing resolve that can be ethically admired as courage yet also morally ambiguous within a destructive war.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a vowed contingent—the Saṃśaptakas, identified with the Trigarta heroes—has been dispatched in a massed chariot force and is advancing directly toward Arjuna, intending to engage him decisively.