Shloka 39
Book 9 (Śalya-parva), Adhyāya 13 — Arjuna’s Arrow-storm and the Drauṇi Confrontation
(अहं मद्भ्रातरश्नैव सात्यकिश्न महारथ: । पज्चाला: सृञ्जयाश्वैव न शक्ता: सम हि मद्रपम् ।। निहनिष्यति चैवाद्य मातुलो5स्मान् महाबल: । गोविन्दवचनं सत्यं कथं भवति कि त्विदम् ।।) मैं, मेरे भाई, महारथी सात्यकि तथा पांचाल और सूंजय योद्धा सब मिलकर भी मद्रराज शल्यको पराजित करनेमें समर्थ नहीं हो रहे हैं। जान पड़ता है ये महाबली मामा आज हमलोगोंका वध कर डालेंगे। फिर भगवान् श्रीकृष्णकी यह बात (कि शल्य मेरे हाथसे मारे जायँगे) कैसे सिद्ध होगी?'। ततः सरथनागाश्चा: पाण्डवा: पाण्डुपूर्वज । मद्रराजं समासेदु: पीडयन्त: समन्ततः
sañjaya uvāca |
ahaṃ mad-bhrātaraś caiva sātyakiś ca mahārathaḥ |
pāñcālāḥ sṛñjayāś caiva na śaktāḥ sama hi madrāpam ||
nihaniṣyati caivādya mātulo ’smān mahābalaḥ |
govinda-vacanaṃ satyaṃ kathaṃ bhavati ki tv idam ||
tataḥ sa-ratha-nāgāś ca pāṇḍavāḥ pāṇḍu-pūrvaja |
madrarājaṃ samāseduḥ pīḍayantaḥ samantataḥ ||
サンジャヤは言った。「『我と我が兄弟たち、そして大車戦士サーティヤキ、さらにパンチャーラとスリンジャヤの諸将が力を合わせても、マドラ王沙利耶に戦で及ばない。どうやらこの剛力の母方の叔父が、今日われらを討ち果たすであろう。そうなれば、ゴーヴィンダの言葉――「沙利耶は我が手によって倒れる」――はいかにして真となるのか。これはいったい何事か』」 そのときパーンダヴァたちは戦車と戦象をもってマドラ王に迫り、四方から圧し包んだ。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the ethical and spiritual tension between immediate battlefield appearances and trust in a righteous promise: even when human strength seems insufficient, the narrative insists that Govinda’s word must become true, pointing to the Mahābhārata theme that truth (satya) and ordained outcomes can prevail beyond visible odds.
In the midst of the fight, the speaker expresses alarm that even a combined force (the narrator’s side with Sātyaki, the Pāñcālas, and the Sṛñjayas) cannot overcome Śalya, the king of Madra. Fearing imminent defeat, he questions how Kṛṣṇa’s prediction that Śalya will be slain by a particular hand can be fulfilled. Immediately after, the Pāṇḍavas advance with chariots and elephants and surround Śalya from all directions.