Shloka 33
(रक्षणे च महान् यत्न: सैन्धवस्य कृतो युधि । अर्जुनस्य विघातार्थ प्रतिज्ञा येन रक्षिता ।। “जिन्होंने अर्जुनके विनाशके लिये युद्धमें सिंधुराजकी रक्षाके निमित्त महान प्रयत्न किया और अपनी प्रतिज्ञा रखी। व्यूहद्वारि वयं चैव धृता येन जिगीषव: । वारितं च महत् सैन्यं प्रविशत् तद् यथाबलम् ।।) “हमलोग विजयकी अभिलाषासे आगे बढ़ना चाहते थे; किंतु जिन्होंने हमें व्यूहके दरवाजेपर रोक रखा था, यथाशक्ति उसके भीतर प्रवेश करनेकी चेष्टामें लगी हुई हमारी विशाल सेनाको भी जिन्होंने रोक ही दिया था। जिधघांसुर्धारराष्ट्रश्न श्रान्तेष्वश्वेषु फाल्गुनम् । कवचेन तथा गुप्तो रक्षार्थ सैन्धवस्यथ च,'अर्जुनके घोड़े जब थक गये थे और धृष्टराष्ट्रपुत्र दुर्योधन जब अर्जुनके वधकी इच्छासे उनपर आक्रमण कर रहा था, उस समय जिन्होंने उसकी तथा सिंधुराजकी रक्षाके लिये उसे दिव्य कवच्द्धारा सुरक्षित कर दिया था
sañjaya uvāca |
rakṣaṇe ca mahān yatnaḥ saindhavasya kṛto yudhi |
arjunasya vighātārthaṁ pratijñā yena rakṣitā ||
vyūhadvāri vayaṁ caiva dhṛtā yena jigīṣavaḥ |
vāritaṁ ca mahat sainyaṁ praviśat tad yathābalam ||
jighāṁsur dhārtarāṣṭraś ca śrānteṣv aśveṣu phālgunam |
kavacena tathā gupto rakṣārthaṁ saindhavasya ca ||
Sanjaya said: In the battle, he exerted great effort to protect the king of Sindhu (Jayadratha), and by doing so he upheld his vow aimed at bringing about Arjuna’s destruction. When we, eager for victory, sought to press forward, he held us at the very gate of the battle-formation and even checked our vast army as it tried, with all its strength, to force its way inside. And when Arjuna’s horses were exhausted and the son of Dhritarashtra (Duryodhana), intent on killing Arjuna, attacked him, he shielded him with armor—both to safeguard Duryodhana and to ensure the protection of Jayadratha.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how vows, loyalty, and battlefield strategy can become morally charged: a warrior’s intense effort to protect an ally (Jayadratha) and keep a pledge is praised as steadfastness, yet the pledge’s aim—Arjuna’s destruction—shows how determination and ‘duty’ in war may serve ethically troubling ends. It illustrates dharma under strain, where commitment and protection are virtues, but their object and intention shape moral evaluation.
Sanjaya describes a key defender who (1) made extraordinary efforts to guard Jayadratha in battle, (2) held back the Kaurava forces at the entrance of a battle-formation when they tried to advance, and (3) at a moment when Arjuna’s horses were exhausted and Duryodhana attacked Arjuna with intent to kill, provided protective covering with armor—securing Duryodhana and thereby also supporting the broader aim of keeping Jayadratha safe.