Shloka 21
न हि शक््यो रणे जेतुं सात्वतो मनुजर्षभै: । लब्धलक्ष्याश्न संग्रामे बहुशश्चित्रयोधिन:,सात्यकिको रणभाूमिमें श्रेष्ठ-से-श्रेष्ठ मनुष्य भी नहीं जीत सकते। वृष्णिवंशी योद्धा अपने निशानेको सफलतापूर्वक वेध लेते हैं। वे संग्रामभुमिमें अनेक प्रकारसे विचित्र युद्ध करनेवाले होते हैं
na hi śakyo raṇe jetuṃ sātvato manujarṣabhaiḥ | labdhalakṣyāś ca saṅgrāme bahuśaś citrayodhinaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Indeed, even the finest of men cannot overcome the Sātvata warrior in battle. For in the clash of arms they strike their marks unfailingly, and they fight in many wondrous and varied ways—making victory over them a matter not merely of strength, but of disciplined skill and steadfast resolve amid the demands of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that victory in war depends not only on raw power but on disciplined mastery—true aim, tactical variety, and steadiness. It implicitly praises trained skill and resolve as decisive ethical qualities within kṣatriya-dharma, while also reminding that even great heroes can be checked by superior competence.
Sañjaya describes to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the formidable prowess of the Sātvata warrior (contextually Sātyaki): he is hard to defeat even for the best fighters, because his arrows find their targets and his methods of fighting are diverse and astonishing on the battlefield.