Shloka 14
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 45: Saubhadra–Lakṣmaṇa-saṃyoga and Kaurava Counter-Encirclement
दृष्टवा रुक्मरथं रुग्णं पुत्र शल्यस्य मानिनम् । जीवग्राहं जिघृक्षन्तं सौभद्रेण यशस्विना,राजन! राजा शल्यके अभिमानी पुत्र रुक्मरथको जो अभिमन्युको जीते-जी पकड़ना चाहता था, यशस्वी सुभद्राकुमारके द्वारा मारा गया देख शल्यपुत्रके बहुत-से मित्र राजकुमार, जो प्रहार करनेमें कुशल और युद्धमें उनन््मत्त होकर लड़नेवाले थे, अर्जुनकुमारको चारों ओरसे घेरकर बाणोंकी वर्षा करने लगे। उनके ध्वज सुवर्णके बने हुए थे, वे महाबली वीर चार हाथके धनुष खींच रहे थे
sañjaya uvāca | dṛṣṭvā rukmarathaṁ rugṇaṁ putraṁ śalyasya māninam | jīvagrāhaṁ jighṛkṣantaṁ saubhadreṇa yaśasvinā ||
Sañjaya said: Seeing Rukmaratha—Shalya’s proud son—struck down, even as he sought to seize the son of Subhadrā alive, the king understood how the famed Saubhadra (Abhimanyu) met and answered aggression in the press of war. The episode underscores the battlefield tension between the desire to capture an opponent without killing and the harsh reality that such intent, when driven by pride and violence, can end in fatal consequence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how prideful aggression, even when framed as a tactical aim like capturing an enemy alive, can lead to ruin in war; fame and prowess (yaśas) are shown as arising from decisive action amid peril, while ethical tension remains between restraint and lethal necessity.
Sañjaya reports that Rukmaratha, the proud son of Śalya, attempted to seize Abhimanyu alive, but was struck down by the renowned Saubhadra; it is a brief battlefield notice marking a reversal for the attacker and the continuing intensity around Abhimanyu.