Shloka 246
ऋते त्वां राक्षसश्रेष्ठ सर्वविद्यासु पारगम् । जैसे वृत्रासुर देवताओंकी सेनाको मार भगाता था, उसी प्रकार वह भी क्रोधपूर्वक मेरी सेनाको खदेड़ रहा है। मैं युद्धस्थलमें सम्पूर्ण विद्याओंके पारंगत तथा राक्षसोंमें सर्वश्रेष्ठ तुम-जैसे वीरको छोड़कर दूसरे किसीको ऐसा नहीं देखता, जो उस रोगकी सबसे उत्तम दवा हो सके
ṛte tvāṃ rākṣasaśreṣṭha sarvavidyāsu pāragam | yathā vṛtrāsuro devatānāṃ senāṃ mārabhāgāyata, tathā sa api krodhapūrvakaṃ mama senāṃ khadedayati | ahaṃ yuddhasthale samastavidyāpāraṅgataṃ rākṣaseṣu ca sarvaśreṣṭhaṃ tvādṛśaṃ vīraṃ vihāya anyaṃ kaṃcid na paśyāmi, yo ’sya rogasyottamāṃ bhiṣajam bhavet ||
Sanjaya said: “Except for you—best of the Rākṣasas, accomplished in every branch of knowledge—I see no one else. Just as Vṛtrāsura once drove the armies of the gods into rout, so this warrior too, in wrath, is driving my forces back. On this battlefield, leaving aside a hero like you—supremely eminent among the Rākṣasas and fully trained in all arts—I do not perceive anyone who could serve as the finest remedy for this ‘disease’ that has seized the army.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames military collapse as a ‘disease’ and highlights the ethical-political duty of seeking the most competent remedy—i.e., relying on the truly capable leader/warrior rather than on numbers or panic. It also shows how epic memory (Vṛtrāsura’s rout of the gods) is used to interpret present events and intensify urgency.
Sanjaya describes a fierce warrior driving back the army in anger and tells the addressed Rākṣasa-hero that, apart from him—renowned and skilled in all arts—no one seems capable of checking the disaster on the battlefield.