एवम् उक्तस् तु शर्वेण सिन्धुराजो जयद्रथः ॥
उवाच प्रणतो रुद्रं प्राञ्जलिर् नियतात्मवान् ॥
पाण्डवेयान् अहं संख्ये भीमवीर्यपराक्रमान् ॥
एको रणे धारयेयं समस्तान् इति भारत ॥
एवम् उक्तस् तु देवेशो जयद्रथम् अथाब्रवीत् ॥
ददामि ते वरं सौम्य विना पार्थं धनंजयम् ॥
evam uktas tu śarveṇa sindhurājo jayadrathaḥ ||
uvāca praṇato rudraṃ prāñjalir niyatātmavān ||
pāṇḍaveyān ahaṃ saṃkhye bhīmavīryaparākramān ||
eko raṇe dhārayeyaṃ samastān iti bhārata ||
evam uktas tu deveśo jayadratham athābravīt ||
dadāmi te varaṃ saumya vinā pārthaṃ dhanaṃjayam ||
Thus addressed by Sharva [Shiva], the king of Sindhu, Jayadratha, spoke to Rudra, having bowed, with joined palms, self-restrained: 'The Pandavas in battle — [men] of terrible might and courage — I alone would hold back in combat, all of them together, O Bharata.' At these words, the lord of gods spoke to Jayadratha: 'I grant you a boon, O gentle one — except for the Partha Dhananjaya [Arjuna].'
b76e6d087f0c · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:30:03 PM UTC
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Jayadratha asks for the immeasurable — to hold back all the Pandavas — and the Lord grants it, but with an exception: "except for Arjuna." In this "except" lies both the measure of the gift and its limit: even the all-powerful Shiva does not surrender Arjuna, guarded by Krishna, into the power of the one asking. It is significant that the very gift carries its own limitation within it — and in it, too, lies hidden Jayadratha's death, for it is Arjuna who will take him to task for it. The verse teaches that even the mercy of the Supreme has its measure, refusing to hand over one whom God protects to his harm; that every gift has its limit, and in that limit lies the wisdom of the Giver; and that one who asks for too much receives it with a proviso in which his own fate is often concealed — for "except for Arjuna" meant: that the one man who could not be held back would become the avenger of the boy now held off by all the rest.