Shloka 27
Śaineya’s Breakthrough and Reunion with Arjuna (शैनेयस्य समागमः)
रक्ष्यते यश्ष संग्रामे ये च संजय रक्षिण: । एक: साधारण: पन्था रक्ष्यस्य सह रक्षिभि:,संजय! संग्राममें जिसकी रक्षा की जाती है और जो लोग रक्षक हैं, उन रक्षकोंसहित रक्षणीय पुरुषके लिये एकमात्र साधारण मार्ग रह गया है पराजय
rakṣyate yaḥ sa saṅgrāme ye ca sañjaya rakṣiṇaḥ | ekaḥ sādhāraṇaḥ panthā rakṣyasya saha rakṣibhiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “O Sañjaya, in battle, for the one who is being protected and for those who serve as his protectors, there remains only a single common course: they must stand or fall together. When the crisis of war closes in, the fate of the guarded and the guardians becomes one—shared responsibility leading to shared defeat if their defense collapses.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
In war, protection is not an individual matter: the protected leader and his defenders share a single destiny. Ethically, it highlights collective duty (rakṣaṇa-dharma) and the shared consequences of failure in leadership and guardianship.
Sañjaya describes a battlefield situation where a key person is being guarded by defenders. He emphasizes that, under pressure, there is only one ‘common path’ for both—the outcome (especially defeat, if the defense breaks) will be shared by the protected and the protectors alike.