Shloka 26
Adhyāya 22: Śālva’s Weapon-Shower, Dāruka’s Wounding, and the Māyā-Report of Vasudeva’s Father
येन त्वं योधितो वीर द्वारका चावमर्दिता । एवमादि तु कौन्तेय श्रुत्वाहं सारथेवच:,“कोई शत्रु अपने घरमें आसनपर बैठा हो (युद्ध न करना चाहता हो), तो भी उसे नष्ट करनेमें नहीं चूकना चाहिये; फिर जो संग्राममें युद्ध करनेके लिये खड़ा हो, उसकी तो बात ही क्या है? अतः पुरुषसिंह! प्रभो! आप सभी उपायोंसे इस शत्रुको मार डालिये। वृष्णिवंशावतंस! इस कार्यमें आपको पुनः विलम्ब नहीं करना चाहिये। यह मृदुतापूर्ण उपायसे वशमें आनेवाला नहीं। वास्तवमें यह आपका मित्र भी नहीं है; क्योंकि वीर! इसने आपके साथ युद्ध किया और द्वारकापुरीको तहस-नहस कर दिया, अतः इसको शीघ्र मार डालना चाहिये।” कुन्तीनन्दन! सारथिके मुखसे इस तरहकी बातें सुनकर मैंने सोचा, यह ठीक ही तो कहता है। यह विचारकर मैंने शाल्वराजका वध करने और सौभविमानको मार गिरानेके लिये युद्धमें मन लगा दिया
yena tvaṁ yodhito vīra dvārakā cāvamarditā | evamādi tu kaunteya śrutvāhaṁ sārathervacaḥ ||
Vāyu said: “O hero, it was by him that you were challenged to battle, and by him that Dvārakā was ravaged. O son of Kuntī, hearing such words from the charioteer—urging that even an enemy who sits at ease at home should not be spared, and all the more one who stands ready for war—I judged the counsel to be sound. Reflecting thus, I fixed my mind on the fight: to slay King Śālva and to bring down the Saubha aerial fortress.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames a hard-edged kṣatriya ethic: when an aggressor has already committed grave harm (waging war and devastating a city), decisive action is presented as righteous and necessary; delay and soft measures are portrayed as ineffective against such hostility.
Vāyu reports that, after hearing the charioteer’s forceful advice—pointing to the enemy’s prior attack and the ruin of Dvārakā—he accepts the reasoning and resolves to engage fully in battle, aiming to kill Śālva and destroy the Saubha flying fortress.