Shloka 18
द्रोणेन सात्यकिपीडनम् — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Charge to Sātyaki amid Droṇa’s Onslaught
नमस्ते देवदेवेश सनातन विशातन । विष्णो जिष्णो हरे कृष्ण वैकुण्ठ पुरुषोत्तम,'शत्रुनाशक! सनातन देवदेवेश्वर! विष्णो! जिष्णो! हरे! कृष्ण! वैकुण्ठ! पुरुषोत्तम! आपको नमस्कार है
namas te devadeveśa sanātana viśātana | viṣṇo jiṣṇo hare kṛṣṇa vaikuṇṭha puruṣottama ||
Sañjaya offers a reverent salutation to Kṛṣṇa, invoking him by a cascade of divine epithets—Lord of gods, eternal one, destroyer of evil, Viṣṇu, the ever-victorious, Hari, Kṛṣṇa, Vaikuṇṭha, and the Supreme Person. In the midst of war’s turmoil, the praise frames Kṛṣṇa as the moral and cosmic refuge whose power upholds dharma and removes hostile forces that threaten righteousness.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid violent conflict, dharma is anchored in remembrance of the divine as the eternal protector and remover of evil; the verse models devotion (stuti) as a moral orientation toward the Supreme Person.
Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, pauses to salute Kṛṣṇa with multiple honorific names, emphasizing Kṛṣṇa’s divine status and his role as the upholder of righteousness during the Kurukṣetra war.