Shloka 4836
तत्रावधीन्महाबाहु: सैन्धवं दूरवासिनम् । “जहाँ द्रोणाचार्यका वध होना चाहिये था तथा जहाँ सेवकोंसहित सूतपुत्र कर्णको मार गिराना चाहिये था, वहाँ महाबाहु अर्जुनने दूर रहनेवाले सिंधुराज जयद्रथका वध किया है
tatrāvadhīn mahābāhuḥ saindhavaṃ dūravāsinam |
Sañjaya said: There, the mighty-armed Arjuna slew the Saindhava (Jayadratha), who had kept himself at a distance—striking down the one who stood apart from the main clash. The line underscores the moral irony of war: the blow falls not where one might expect (upon the chief architects of slaughter), but upon the evasive offender whose earlier wrongdoing demanded retribution.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid battlefield chaos, actions are framed by moral causality: the one who tries to evade consequences (dūravāsin) can still be reached by justice, and a warrior’s duty may focus on retribution for a specific wrong rather than on merely striking the most prominent foes.
Sañjaya reports that Arjuna kills Jayadratha (the Saindhava king). The phrasing highlights that Jayadratha was positioned at a distance, yet Arjuna nevertheless reaches and slays him, marking a decisive moment in the Drona Parva war narrative.