Shloka 4
सैन्धवविक्रमवर्णनम् / Description of Jayadratha’s Martial Display
धृष्टकेतुश्व संरब्धो मत्स्याश्वाभ्यपतन् रणे । तेनैव तु पथा यान्तः पितरो मातुलै: सह,अभ्यद्रवन् परीप्सन्तो व्यूढानीका: प्रहारिण: । संजयने कहा--राजन! युधिष्ठिर, भीमसेन, शिखण्डी, सात्यकि, नकुल-सहदेव, धष्टद्युम्न, विराट, द्रपद, केकय-राजकुमार, रोषमें भरा हुआ धृष्टकेतु तथा मत्स्यदेशीय योद्धा --ये सब-के-सब युद्धस्थलमें आगे बढ़े। अभिमन्युके ताऊ, चाचा तथा मामागण अपनी सेनाको व्यूहद्वारा संगठित करके प्रहार करनेके लिये उद्यत हो अभिमन्युकी रक्षाके लिये उसीके बनाये हुए मार्गसे व्यूहमें जानेके उद्देश्यसे एक साथ दौड़ पड़े
sañjaya uvāca |
dhṛṣṭaketus tu saṃrabdho matsyān aśvān abhyapatan raṇe |
tenaiva tu pathā yāntaḥ pitaro mātulaiḥ saha |
abhyadravan parīpsanto vyūḍhānīkāḥ prahāriṇaḥ ||
Sanjaya said: Enraged, Dhṛṣṭaketu, along with the Matsya and Aśva warriors, charged into the battle. And following that very path, the fathers and maternal uncles—having arrayed their troops in battle-formation and eager to strike—rushed forward together, intent on entering the formation by the route that had been opened, in order to protect Abhimanyu. The scene underscores a grim ethical tension: kinship-duty and protective loyalty drive them into a lethal tactical trap, where compassion must operate within the harsh logic of war.
संजय उवाच