Shloka 14
सैन्धवं मद्रराजानं राजानं च सुयोधनम् । वीरान् कृतास्त्रान् समरे सवनिवानिवर्तिन:
saindhavaṁ madrarājānaṁ rājānaṁ ca suyodhanam | vīrān kṛtāstrān samare savanivānivartinaḥ ||
சஞ்சயன் கூறினான்—சிந்துநாட்டு ஜயத்ரதன், மத்ரநாட்டு அரசன் சல்யன், மேலும் அரசன் சுயோதனன்—இவர்கள் வீரர்கள்; ஆயுதக் கலையில் தேர்ந்தவர்கள்; போரில் அச்சமூட்டுவோர்; போரிலிருந்து ஒருபோதும் பின்வாங்காதோர்.
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?