Mahabharata 7.116.27 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 116, Shloka 27
Śaineya’s Breakthrough and Reunion with Arjuna (शैनेयस्य समागमः)
रक्ष्यते यश्ष संग्रामे ये च संजय रक्षिण: । एक: साधारण: पन्था रक्ष्यस्य सह रक्षिभि:
rakṣyate yaḥ sa saṅgrāme ye ca sañjaya rakṣiṇaḥ | ekaḥ sādhāraṇaḥ panthā rakṣyasya saha rakṣibhiḥ ||
സഞ്ജയാ! യുദ്ധത്തിൽ സംരക്ഷിക്കപ്പെടുന്നവനും അവനെ കാക്കുന്ന രക്ഷകരും—രക്ഷ്യനോടൊപ്പം രക്ഷകർക്ക് ഇനി ഒരേയൊരു പൊതുവഴിയേ ശേഷിക്കൂ: അവർ ഒരുമിച്ച് നില്ക്കണം, അല്ലെങ്കിൽ ഒരുമിച്ച് വീഴണം.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
In war, protection is not an individual matter: the protected leader and his defenders share a single destiny. Ethically, it highlights collective duty (rakṣaṇa-dharma) and the shared consequences of failure in leadership and guardianship.
Sañjaya describes a battlefield situation where a key person is being guarded by defenders. He emphasizes that, under pressure, there is only one ‘common path’ for both—the outcome (especially defeat, if the defense breaks) will be shared by the protected and the protectors alike.
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