Shloka 14
सैन्धवं मद्रराजानं राजानं च सुयोधनम् । वीरान् कृतास्त्रान् समरे सवनिवानिवर्तिन:
saindhavaṁ madrarājānaṁ rājānaṁ ca suyodhanam | vīrān kṛtāstrān samare savanivānivartinaḥ ||
Sañjaya disse: “Há Jayadratha de Sindhu, o rei de Madra (Śalya) e o rei Suyodhana (Duryodhana)—heróis, plenamente treinados no uso das armas, ferozes na batalha e que jamais recuam do combate. Diante de tais grandes guerreiros de carro—Bhīṣma, Droṇa, Kṛpa, Karṇa filho do Sol, Aśvatthāmā, Bhūriśravā, Kṛtavarmā, Jayadratha, Śalya e o rei Duryodhana—quem mais neste mundo, além de ti, poderia alcançar a vitória?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ideal of kṣatriya steadfastness—warriors trained in arms who do not retreat—and uses praise to stress how extraordinary it would be to overcome such a concentration of renowned fighters. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s tension between valor and the moral cost of war: excellence in battle is admired, yet it serves a destructive end.
Sañjaya describes to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the formidable Kaurava champions—Jayadratha, Śalya, Duryodhana and other famed mahārathas—emphasizing their skill and refusal to withdraw. He then poses a rhetorical question: who, besides the addressed hero (contextually a supreme warrior), could possibly defeat them?