Shloka 843
Śalya-hatānantarāṇi: Madrarāja-padānugānāṃ praskandana and the Pandava counter-encirclement (शल्यहतानन्तराणि—मद्रराजपदानुगानां प्रस्कन्दनम्)
अथान्यं रथमास्थाय हार्दिक्यो5पि न्यवर्तत । जैसे मरणधर्मा मनुष्य पास आयी हुई अपनी मौतको नहीं टाल सकते, उसी प्रकार वे शत्रुपक्षके सैनिक दुर्योधनको लाँधघकर आगे न बढ़ सके। इसी समय कृतवर्मा भी दूसरे रथपर आरूढ़ हो पुनः वहीं लौट आया
athānyaṃ ratham āsthāya hārdikyo 'pi nyavartata | yathā maraṇadharmā manuṣyāḥ samīpāgatāṃ svāṃ mṛtyuṃ na nivārayituṃ śaknuvanti, tathā te śatrupakṣasya sainikā duryodhanaṃ laṅghayitvā agre na śekuḥ | asminn eva kāle kṛtavarmā 'pi dvitīyena rathena ārūḍhaḥ punaḥ tatraiva nyavartata |
Sañjaya said: Then Hārdikya (Kṛtavarmā), mounting another chariot, turned back again. Just as mortal men cannot avert the death that has come close to them, so the warriors of the opposing host could not overleap Duryodhana and press forward beyond him. At that very moment, Kṛtavarmā too, having ascended a second chariot, returned once more to the same place.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the inevitability of fate and mortality: just as humans cannot ward off death when it draws near, so in battle the opposing soldiers find themselves unable to push past a decisive obstacle—here, Duryodhana’s stand—suggesting limits imposed by circumstance, destiny, and the moral weight of the moment.
Sañjaya reports that Kṛtavarmā (Hārdikya) remounts another chariot and returns to the battlefield position. Meanwhile, the enemy soldiers cannot break through beyond Duryodhana; they fail to advance past him, and Kṛtavarmā’s return coincides with this stalemate.