Shloka 18
Śaineya’s Breakthrough and Reunion with Arjuna (शैनेयस्य समागमः)
तौ तत्र समतिक्रान्तौ दृष्टवातीव तरस्विनौ । सिन्धुराजं तु सम्प्रेक्ष्य गाण्डीवस्येषुगोचरे,उन दोनों अत्यन्त वेगशाली वीरोंको वहाँ सबका उल्लंघन करके घुसे हुए देख तथा सिन्धुराज जयद्रथको गाण्डीवसे छूटे हुए बाणोंकी सीमामें उपस्थित पाकर कालप्रेरित कौरवोंने वहाँ कौन-सा कार्य किया? उस दारुण संहारके समय, जहाँ मृत्युके सिवा दूसरी कोई गति नहीं थी, किस प्रकार उन्होंने कर्तव्यका निश्चय किया?
tau tatra samatikrāntau dṛṣṭvā'tīva tarasvinau | sindhurājaṃ tu samprekṣya gāṇḍīvasyeṣugocare ||
Sañjaya said: Seeing those two exceedingly swift heroes there, having broken through all opposition, and observing Jayadratha, king of Sindhu, standing within the range of arrows shot from the Gāṇḍīva, the Kauravas—driven as if by fate—were compelled to decide what must be done. In that dreadful hour of slaughter, where no course remained but death, how did they determine their duty?
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharma as decisive action under extreme pressure: when circumstances narrow to a single grim outcome, warriors still must choose and commit to what they judge as duty, even if compelled by the momentum of time (kāla) and the inevitability of death.
Two formidable heroes have forced their way through the battlefield. Jayadratha, the Sindhu king, is now within the effective arrow-range of Arjuna’s bow, Gāṇḍīva. The Kauravas, sensing imminent catastrophe, must quickly determine their course of action in a near-hopeless situation.