तथा प्रतिभये तस्मिन् देवदानवसंकुले ॥
खाण्डवे युध्यमानस्य कः सहायस् तदाभवत् ॥
निवातकवचैर् युद्धे कालकेयैश् च दानवैः ॥
तत्र मे युध्यमानस्य कः सहायस् तदाभवत् ॥
तथा विराटनगरे कुरुभिः सह संगरे ॥
युध्यतो बहुभिस् तात कः सहायो ऽभवन् मम ॥
उपजीव्य रणे रुद्रं शक्रं वैश्रवणं यमम् ॥
वरुणं पावकं चैव कृपं द्रोणं च माधवम् ॥
धारयन् गाण्डिवं दिव्यं धनुस् तेजोमयं दृढम् ॥
अक्षय्यशरसंयुक्तो दिव्यास्त्रपरिबृंहितः ॥
tathā pratibhaye tasmin devadānavasaṃkule ||
khāṇḍave yudhyamānasya kaḥ sahāyas tadābhavat ||
nivātakavacair yuddhe kālakeyaiś ca dānavaiḥ ||
tatra me yudhyamānasya kaḥ sahāyas tadābhavat ||
tathā virāṭanagare kurubhiḥ saha saṃgare ||
yudhyato bahubhis tāta kaḥ sahāyo 'bhavan mama ||
upajīvya raṇe rudraṃ śakraṃ vaiśravaṇaṃ yamam ||
varuṇaṃ pāvakaṃ caiva kṛpaṃ droṇaṃ ca mādhavam ||
dhārayan gāṇḍivaṃ divyaṃ dhanus tejomayaṃ dṛḍham ||
akṣayyaśarasaṃyukto divyāstraparibṛṃhitaḥ ||
'And when I fought in that terrible Khandava, thronged with gods and danavas, who then was my helper? In battle with the Nivatakavachas and the danava Kalakeyas, who then was my helper there while I fought? And when in the city of Virata I fought against the many Kurus, dear one, who then was my helper? In battle I relied on Rudra, Shakra, Vaishravana, Yama, Varuna, Pavaka, Kripa, Drona, and Madhava; I hold the divine, splendor-filled, firmly-grasped bow Gandiva, furnished with inexhaustible arrows and strengthened by divine weapons.'
5a34734ef312 · published Jul 17, 2026, 6:17:52 AM UTC
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Rukmi arrives as an ally, but his speech reveals not service to dharma but self-assurance and a wish to display his own strength. Arjuna's answer is not empty pride: he reminds him that his support has already been proven in battle, and it consists not in some chance helper but in Krishna, in divine weapons, in his teachers, and in his own responsibility as a kshatriya. That is why both the Pandavas and Duryodhana are left without Rukmi: the war is purified of ostentatious support that carries no inner loyalty.