Shloka 21
Droṇa Interdicts Sātyaki; Sātyaki’s Breakthrough and Duel with Kṛtavarmā (द्रोण-निवारणम्, सात्यकि-प्रवेशः, कृतवर्म-युद्धम्)
को हि तान् विषहेद् योद्धूं मर्त्यधर्मा धनुर्धर: । अन्यत्र कौरवेयेभ्यो ये वा तेषां पदानुगा:,जिनके योद्धा गुडाकेश अर्जुन हैं, जिनके मन्त्री भगवान् श्रीकृष्ण हैं तथा जिनकी ओरससे युद्ध करनेवाले योद्धा सात्यकि और भीमसेन हैं, उनके साथ कौरवों तथा उनके चरण-चिह्लोंपर चलनेवाले अन्य नरेशोंको छोड़कर दूसरा कौन मरणथधर्मा धनुर्धर युद्ध करनेका साहस कर सकता है?
sañjaya uvāca |
ko hi tān viṣahed yoddhuṃ martyadharmā dhanurdharaḥ |
anyatra kauraveyebhyo ye vā teṣāṃ padānugāḥ ||
ಸಂಜಯನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಮರ್ಥ್ಯಧರ್ಮಕ್ಕೆ ಒಳಪಟ್ಟ ಯಾವ ಧನುರ್ಧರನು ಅವರ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಯುದ್ಧವನ್ನು ಸಹಿಸಬಲ್ಲನು? ಕೌರವರು ಮತ್ತು ಅವರ ಹೆಜ್ಜೆಗುರುತುಗಳನ್ನು ಅನುಸರಿಸುವವರು ಹೊರತು ಬೇರೆ ಯಾರೂ ಅಲ್ಲ।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the limits of ordinary human capacity in the face of extraordinary martial power, and implies that only those bound by factional loyalty—Kauravas and their followers—would dare persist. It frames war not merely as strength versus strength, but as a test of discernment (knowing when resistance is futile) and the ethical weight of allegiance.
Sañjaya, narrating the battle to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, remarks on the daunting prowess of the opposing side and rhetorically asks who could possibly fight them. He answers that only the Kauravas and the kings aligned with them would attempt it, emphasizing the grim resolve and entanglement of alliances in the Kurukṣetra war.