Shloka 79
धृष्टद्युम्नस्य द्रोणरथारोহণं सात्यकेः प्रतिरक्षणं च | Dhrishtadyumna Boards Droṇa’s Chariot; Sātyaki’s Counter-Protection
यद्येवमहमज्ञास्यमशक्तान् रक्षणे मम । पुत्रस्य पाण्डुपञ्चालान् मया गुप्तो भवेत् तत:,“यदि मैं ऐसा जानता कि पाण्डव और पांचाल मेरे पुत्रकी रक्षा करनेमें असमर्थ हैं तो मैं स्वयं उसकी रक्षा करता
yadyevamaham ajñāsyam aśaktān rakṣaṇe mama | putrasya pāṇḍupañcālān mayā gupto bhavet tataḥ ||
यदि मैं यह जानता कि पाण्डव और पांचाल मेरे पुत्र की रक्षा करने में असमर्थ हैं, तो उसी क्षण से मैं स्वयं उसकी रक्षा करता और उसे सुरक्षित रखता।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights accountability in leadership and kinship: when entrusted protectors prove unable, the moral burden returns to the one most responsible, who must not evade the duty of safeguarding those under his care.
Sañjaya reports a speaker’s retrospective realization: if he had known that the Pāṇḍavas and Pāñcālas could not protect his son, he would have personally arranged or ensured the son’s protection from that point onward.