Shloka 20
धृष्टद्युम्नस्य द्रोणाभिमुख्यं तथा सात्यकि-कर्ण-समागमः
Dhṛṣṭadyumna’s advance toward Droṇa and the Sātyaki–Karṇa confrontation
स कथं सात्यकिं शिष्यं सुखसम्बन्धमेव च,(निकृष्यमाणं तं दृष्टवा कथं शत्रुवशं गतम् । त्वया विकृष्यमाणं च दृष्टवानस्मि निष्क्रियम् ।।) सात्यकि मेरा शिष्य और सुखप्रद सम्बन्धी है। वह मेरे ही लिये अपने दुस्त्यज प्राणोंका मोह छोड़कर युद्ध कर रहा है। राजन! रणदुर्मद सात्यकि युद्धस्थलमें मेरी दाहिनी भुजाके समान है। उसे तुम्हारे द्वारा कष्ट पाते देख मैं कैसे उसकी उपेक्षा कर सकता था। मैंने देखा है तुम उसे घसीट रहे थे और वह शत्रुके अधीन होकर निश्चेष्ट हो गया था
sa kathaṃ sātyakiṃ śiṣyaṃ sukha-sambandham eva ca | nikṛṣyamāṇaṃ taṃ dṛṣṭvā kathaṃ śatru-vaśaṃ gatam | tvayā vikṛṣyamāṇaṃ ca dṛṣṭavān asmi niṣkriyam ||
Arjuna said: “How could I abandon Sātyaki—my disciple and a dear kinsman—when I saw him being dragged and brought under the enemy’s control? I myself witnessed you pulling him away, and he had become helpless and motionless. He has cast off attachment even to his hard-to-surrender life and fights for my sake; in the fury of battle he stands at my right hand like my own arm. Seeing him suffer at your hands, how could I possibly ignore him?”
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Arjuna frames rescue as dharma: bonds of discipleship and kinship create a moral duty to protect an ally in distress, especially when that ally risks his life for one’s cause. Neglecting such a person would be an ethical failure, even amid battlefield priorities.
Arjuna explains why he could not ignore Sātyaki’s peril. He says he personally saw Sātyaki being dragged and rendered helpless under enemy power, and therefore intervened—because Sātyaki is both his disciple and close relation, fighting for Arjuna’s sake and standing like Arjuna’s right arm in battle.