Shloka 47
प्रययौ सात्यकी राजन श्वेताश्वस्य रथं प्रति । राजन्! इस प्रकार आपके सहस्रों सैनिकोंको भगाकर सात्यकि श्वेतवाहन अर्जुनके रथकी ओर चल दिये ।। (तं प्रयान्तं महाबाहुं तावका:ः प्रेक्ष्य मारिष । दृष्टं चादृष्टवत्कृत्वा क्रियामन्यां प्रयोजयन् ।।) आर्य! महाबाहु सात्यकिको आगे जाते देखकर आपके सैनिक उस देखी हुई घटनाको भी अनदेखी करके दूसरे काममें लग गये। त॑ं शरानाददानं च रक्षमाणं च सारथिम् । आत्मानं पालयानं च तावका: समपूजयन्,सात्यकि बाणोंको ग्रहण करते हुए अपनी और सारथिकी भी रक्षा करते थे। उनके इस कार्यकी आपके सैनिकोंने भी भूरि-भूरि प्रशंसा की
sañjaya uvāca | prayayau sātyakī rājan śvetāśvasya rathaṃ prati | taṃ prayāntaṃ mahābāhuṃ tāvakāḥ prekṣya māriṣa | dṛṣṭaṃ cādṛṣṭavat kṛtvā kriyām anyāṃ prayojayan | taṃ śarān ādadānaṃ ca rakṣamāṇaṃ ca sārathim | ātmānaṃ pālayānaṃ ca tāvakāḥ samapūjayan |
Sañjaya said: O King, Sātyaki advanced toward the chariot of Arjuna of the white steeds. Seeing that mighty-armed warrior moving ahead, your men—O venerable one—treated even what they had plainly witnessed as though it were unseen, and turned themselves to other tasks. Yet they praised Sātyaki for his disciplined conduct: as he took up arrows, protected his charioteer, and safeguarded himself. The passage highlights a battlefield ethic where composure, loyalty to one’s driver, and self-restraint under pressure are recognized even by opponents, while the army’s will can falter through denial and distraction.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid violence, warrior-dharma values steadiness, skill, and loyalty—especially protecting one’s charioteer and maintaining self-control. The verse also warns how fear or confusion can make people deny what they have clearly seen and drift into distraction rather than right action.
Sātyaki moves toward Arjuna’s chariot. The Kaurava soldiers, seeing him advance, behave as if they had not seen the earlier rout and turn to other duties; nevertheless, they openly commend Sātyaki’s disciplined fighting—taking arrows, guarding his driver, and protecting himself.