Shloka 14

Devanagari script

सैन्धवं मद्रराजानं राजानं च सुयोधनम्‌ । वीरान्‌ कृतास्त्रान्‌ समरे सवनिवानिवर्तिन:

Transliteration

saindhavaṁ madrarājānaṁ rājānaṁ ca suyodhanam | vīrān kṛtāstrān samare savanivānivartinaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya nói: “Còn có Jayadratha xứ Sindhu, vua Madra là Śalya, và vua Suyodhana (Duryodhana)—những anh hùng tinh luyện mọi binh khí, dữ dội nơi chiến địa, và không bao giờ quay lưng trước giao tranh. Trước những đại xa chiến ấy—Bhīṣma, Droṇa, Kṛpa, Karṇa con của Thần Mặt Trời, Aśvatthāmā, Bhūriśravā, Kṛtavarmā, Jayadratha, Śalya, và vua Duryodhana—ngoài ngài ra, còn ai trong đời này có thể giành thắng lợi?”

Word by Word

• सैन्धवम्: Jayadratha (the Sindhu king)
• सैन्धवम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सैन्धव
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• मद्रराजानम्: the king of Madra (Shalya)
• मद्रराजानम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मद्रराज
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• राजानम्: the king
• राजानम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• सुयोधनम्: Duryodhana
• सुयोधनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुयोधन
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• वीरान्: heroes
• वीरान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वीर
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• कृतास्त्रान्: trained/versed in weapons
• कृतास्त्रान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृतास्त्र
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• समरे: in battle
• समरे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: समर
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• सवनिवानिवर्तिनः: not turning back, even with their followers/retinue
• सवनिवानिवर्तिनः: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स-वनिवा-निवर्तिन्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Jayadratha (Saindhava)
• Śalya (Madrarāja)
• Duryodhana (Suyodhana)
• Bhīṣma
• Droṇa
• Kṛpa
• Karṇa (Vaikartana)
• Aśvatthāmā
• Bhūriśravā
• Kṛtavarmā
• Madra
• Sindhu

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

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.

What is happening in the narrative?

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?