Shloka 21
Ghaṭotkaca Slays Alāyudha (Night Battle and Māyā Countermeasures) / घटोत्कचेन अलायुधवधः
यत्ता: सर्वे पराभूता: पर्यवारयतार्डर्जुनम् । सिन्धुराजानमश्रित्य स वो मध्ये कथं हतः,तुम सब लोगोंने बड़ी सावधानीसे अर्जुनको घेर लिया था। फिर सब-के-सब पराजित कैसे हो गये? तुमने सिंधुराजको आश्रय दिया था। फिर तुम्हारे बीचमें वह कैसे मारा गया?
sañjaya uvāca | yattāḥ sarve parābhūtāḥ paryavārayatārḍārjunam | sindhurājānam āśritya sa vo madhye kathaṃ hataḥ ||
Sanjaya said: “Though all of you were fully alert and had surrounded Arjuna on every side, how did you still end up defeated? And having taken refuge behind the king of Sindhu, how was he slain right in your midst?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between human planning and moral consequence: even careful strategy and numerical advantage can fail when opposed by superior prowess and the momentum of righteous retribution. It underscores accountability in war—protecting an offender does not guarantee safety from the results of his deeds.
Sanjaya challenges the Kaurava side’s account: despite their vigilant encirclement of Arjuna and their reliance on the Sindhu king (Jayadratha) as a protected center, they were routed and Jayadratha was killed within their formation. The question points to the collapse of their defensive arrangement and Arjuna’s breakthrough.