Shloka 27
Indrajit’s Binding, Restoration by Viśalyā, and Counsel Restraining Rāvaṇa (Āraṇyaka Parva 273)
वरं चास्मै ददौ देव: स जग्राह च तच्छूणु । समस्तान् सरथान् पज्च जयेयं युधि पाण्डवान्,जनमेजय! भगवानने उसे वर दिया और जयद्रथने उसको ग्रहण किया। वह वर क्या था? यह बताता हूँ, सुनो--“मैं रथसहित पाँचों पाण्डवोंको युद्धमें जीत लूँ”. यही वर सिन्धुराजने महादेवजीसे माँगा। परंतु महादेवजीने उससे कहा--'ऐसा नहीं हो सकता। पाण्डव अजेय और अवध्य हैं। तुम केवल एक दिन युद्धमें महाबाहु अर्जुनको छोड़कर अन्य चार पाण्डवोंको आगे बढ़नेसे रोक सकते हो। देवेश्वर नर, जो बदरिकाश्रममें भगवान् नारायणके साथ रहकर तपस्या करते हैं, वे ही अर्जुन हैं
varaṃ cāsmai dadau devaḥ sa jagrāha ca tac chṛṇu | samastān sarathān pañca jayeyam yudhi pāṇḍavān, janamejaya |
Bhīmasena said: “The god granted him a boon, and he accepted it—listen to what it was, O Janamejaya. ‘May I defeat the five Pāṇḍavas in battle, together with their chariots.’ Such was the boon the king of Sindhu sought from Mahādeva. Yet Mahādeva declared that this could not be fully granted, for the Pāṇḍavas are unconquerable and not to be slain. At most, for a single day, Jayadratha would be able to check the advance of the other four Pāṇḍavas, excluding the mighty Arjuna—who is none other than Nara, the divine ascetic dwelling with Nārāyaṇa at Badarikāśrama. The episode underscores the moral boundary placed even upon divine favors: power is limited when it confronts righteousness and divinely protected virtue.
भीमसेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even divine boons operate within moral and cosmic constraints: adharma-driven ambitions cannot override the protection granted to the righteous. The Pāṇḍavas’ ‘invincibility’ is framed as dharmic and divinely safeguarded, and Arjuna’s identity as Nara emphasizes spiritual stature as the source of true strength.
Bhīma recounts how Jayadratha obtained a boon from Śiva to defeat the Pāṇḍavas, but the boon was restricted: Jayadratha could only hold back four Pāṇḍavas for one day, not Arjuna. The passage explains the limitation by identifying Arjuna with the divine ascetic Nara, companion of Nārāyaṇa at Badarikāśrama.