Shloka 8
सैन्धवविक्रमवर्णनम् / Description of Jayadratha’s Martial Display
उग्रधन्वा महेष्वासो दिव्यमस्त्रमुदीरयन् । वार्थक्षत्रिरुपासेधत् प्रवणादिव कुज्जर:,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 जैसे हाथी नीची भूमिमें आकर वहींसे शत्रुका निवारण करता है, उसी प्रकार भयंकर एवं महान् धनुष धारण करनेवाले वृद्धक्षत्रकुमार जयद्रथने दिव्यास्त्रोंका प्रयोग करके शत्रुओंकी प्रगति रोक दी
sañjaya uvāca |
ugradhanvā maheṣvāso divyam astram udīrayan |
vṛddhakṣatrir upāsedhat pravaṇād iva kuñjaraḥ |
abhyadravan parīpsanto vyūḍhānīkāḥ prahāriṇaḥ |
Sañjaya said: The fierce archer, that great bowman Vṛddhakṣatri (Jayadratha), invoking a divine missile, checked their advance—like an elephant holding its ground from a low-lying slope. Meanwhile, the striking warriors, their forces arrayed in battle-formation, rushed forward together, intent on breaking through and reaching their goal (to protect Abhimanyu and enter by the path he had opened).
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, resolve and coordinated effort (vyūha) can be thwarted by a single well-positioned defender using superior means (divya-astra). Ethically, it underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension: courage and duty-driven rescue attempts meet the harsh reality of strategic obstruction and escalatory weaponry.
As the Pāṇḍava-side warriors charge forward in formation to break through and reach their objective (in context, to protect/relieve Abhimanyu and enter the array by his path), Jayadratha—here called Vṛddhakṣatri—invokes divine weapons and blocks their advance, compared to an elephant resisting from advantageous ground.