Mahabharata 3.52.7 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 52, Shloka 7
Nala’s Embassy to Damayantī and the Gods’ Proposal (नलस्य दूतत्वं देवप्रस्तावश्च)
यस्मिन् विनष्टे पाड्चाला: सह पुत्रैस्तथा वयम् | सात्यकिर्वासुदेवश्च विनश्येयुर्न संशय:
yasmin vinaṣṭe pāñcālāḥ saha putraistathā vayam | sātyakir vāsudevaś ca vinaśyeyur na saṁśayaḥ ||
Disse Vaiśampāyana: “Se ele (Arjuna) perecer, então os Pāñcālas com seus filhos, nós mesmos—os Pāṇḍavas—, Sātyaki e Kṛṣṇa, filho de Vāsudeva, todos seremos arruinados; disso não há dúvida.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical and strategic interdependence of dharmic allies: the fall of a pivotal protector (Arjuna) would trigger the collapse of the wider coalition—Pāñcālas, Pāṇḍavas, Sātyaki, and even Kṛṣṇa’s mission—highlighting responsibility toward safeguarding key agents of righteousness.
Vaiśampāyana reports a grave assessment: Arjuna’s potential destruction is portrayed as a decisive turning point that would doom the allied forces. The statement heightens narrative tension by stressing how central Arjuna is to the survival and success of the Pāṇḍava-led cause.
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