Shloka 15
भीष्मरक्षण-प्रकरणम् / The Protective Screen around Bhīṣma and the Śalya–Yudhiṣṭhira Clash
वासुदेवो5नन्तशक्ति: सृष्टिसंहारकारक: । सर्वेश्व॒रो देवदेव: परमात्मा सनातन:,“विश्वरक्षक, शंख, चक्र और गदा धारण करनेवाले अनन्तशक्ति, सृष्टि और संहारके एकमात्र कर्ता देवाधिदेव सनातन परमात्मा सर्वेश्वर भगवान् वासुदेव जिनकी रक्षा करनेवाले हैं, उन वेगशाली वीर पाण्डुपुत्र अर्जुनको युद्धके मैदानमें कौन जीत सकता है
sañjaya uvāca | vāsudevo 'nantāśaktiḥ sṛṣṭi-saṃhāra-kārakaḥ | sarveśvaro devadevaḥ paramātmā sanātanaḥ |
Sanjaya said: Vāsudeva, of limitless power, the sole agent of creation and dissolution, the Lord of all, God of gods, the eternal Supreme Self—when such a protector stands with Arjuna, the swift and valiant son of Pāṇḍu, who in the battlefield can truly conquer him? The verse frames victory not merely as martial skill, but as the moral and spiritual force that arises when one is aligned with the Supreme and fights for a righteous cause.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that true invincibility in a righteous struggle arises from alignment with the Supreme (Vāsudeva as Paramātmā and Sarveśvara). Ethical strength and divine support outweigh mere physical prowess; when dharma is upheld under divine guidance, defeat becomes unlikely.
Sanjaya, narrating the war to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, emphasizes Arjuna’s unassailable position because Kṛṣṇa/Vāsudeva—described with exalted theological epithets as creator and destroyer, Lord of all—stands as his protector and charioteer, implying the Pāṇḍava side’s moral and strategic advantage.