Shloka 1
इन्द्रजिद्-लक्ष्मणयुद्धम्
Indrajit and Lakṣmaṇa: Escalation through Concealment
८-० 05० (0) अत हा एकसप्तत्याधिकद्विशततमो< ध्याय: पाण्डवोंद्वारा जयद्रथकी सेनाका संहार, जयद्रथका पलायन, द्रौपदी तथा नकुल-सहदेवके साथ युधिष्ठिरका आश्रमपर लौटना तथा भीम और अर्जुनका वनमें जयद्रथका पीछा करना वैशम्पायन उवाच संतिष्ठत प्रहरत तूर्ण विपरिधावत । इति सम सैन्धवो राजा चोदयामास तान् नृपान्,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--राजन्! तब सिन्धुराज जयद्रथ “ठहरो, मारो, जल्दी दौड़ो कहकर अपने साथ आये हुए राजाओंको युद्धके लिये उत्साहित करने लगा
vaiśampāyana uvāca | saṃtiṣṭhata praharata tūrṇaṃ viparidhāvata | iti saṃ saindhavo rājā codayāmāsa tān nṛpān |
Vaiśampāyana said: Then the king of Sindhu, Jayadratha, urged on those allied kings, crying, “Stand your ground! Strike! Run swiftly in pursuit!”—stirring them to battle. The scene underscores how a leader’s commands can inflame violence and rally wavering allies, setting the moral tension between righteous restraint and reckless aggression.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of leadership speech: commands can rapidly mobilize violence. It frames a dharmic tension—whether martial zeal is disciplined by righteousness or becomes reckless aggression driven by anger and fear.
Jayadratha, the Sindhu king, rallies his allied kings with urgent battle-cries—ordering them to hold position, strike, and rush swiftly—thereby spurring them into combat as the confrontation intensifies.