Shloka 15
Saṃśaptakas in Candrārdha-vyūha; Arjuna’s Devadatta and the Traigarta Rout
Chapter 17
भवतश्च प्रियं यत् स्थादस्माकं च यशस्करम् । वयमेनं हनिष्यामो निकृष्यायोधनाद् बहि:,“उससे आपका तो प्रिय होगा ही, हमलोगोंके सुयशकी भी वृद्धि होगी। हम इन्हें युद्धस्थलसे बाहर खींच ले जायूँगे और मार डालेंगे
bhavataś ca priyaṃ yat sthād asmākaṃ ca yaśaskaram | vayam enaṃ haniṣyāmo nikṛṣyāyodhanād bahiḥ ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Hal ini akan menyenangkan tuanku, dan juga akan menambah kemasyhuran kami. Kami akan menyeret dia keluar dari medan perang, lalu membunuhnya.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a wartime mindset where actions are justified by pleasing one’s superior and gaining fame. Ethically, it foregrounds the tension between renown (yaśas) and righteous conduct (dharma), implying that pursuit of reputation can motivate harsh, even questionable, tactics in battle.
Sañjaya reports a plan voiced in the war context: the speakers intend to remove a particular opponent from the active battlefield—dragging him outside the fighting ground—and then kill him, presenting it as both pleasing to their leader and beneficial to their own fame.