Mahabharata 7.42.11 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 42, Shloka 11
सैन्धवविक्रमवर्णनम् / Description of Jayadratha’s Martial Display
सिंधुराजमें ऐसे बल और शौर्यका होना मैं अत्यन्त आश्चर्यकी बात मानता हूँ। महामना जयद्रथके बल और श्रेष्ठ पराक्रमका मुझसे विस्तारपूर्वक वर्णन करो ।।
sañjaya uvāca | kiṁ dattaṁ hutam iṣṭaṁ vā kiṁ sutaptam atho tapaḥ | sindhurājo hi yenāikaḥ pāṇḍavān samavārayat | abhyadravan parīpsanto vyūḍhānīkāḥ prahāriṇaḥ ||
सञ्जय उवाच—किं दत्तं हुतमिष्टं वा किं सुतप्तं तपोऽथ वा, येन सैन्धवो राजा जयद्रथ एक एव क्रुद्धान् पुत्रप्रेप्सून् पाण्डवान् समवारयत्—यदा ते व्यूढानीकाः प्रहारिणो वीराः अभिमन्युरक्षणार्थं तेनैव कृतमार्गेण व्यूहं प्रवेष्टुं समभ्यद्रवन्।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a Mahābhārata theme: extraordinary worldly power in a critical moment is often interpreted as the ripened fruit of prior merit—charity (dāna), ritual offering (homa/yajña), and austerity (tapas). It invites reflection on how past ethical and religious actions can shape present capability, even within morally fraught warfare.
As the Pāṇḍava warriors surge forward in battle formation to strike and press their objective, Jayadratha, the king of Sindhu, manages to check them single-handedly. Sañjaya, reporting to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, expresses astonishment and asks what prior acts—gifts, sacrifices, or austerities—could explain Jayadratha’s ability to restrain them.
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