Shloka 4
Adhyāya 107 — बहुयुद्धप्रकरणम्
Multiple Defensive Engagements to Protect Bhīṣma
ते वध्यमाना: पार्थेन कालेनेव युगक्षये । व्यद्रवन्त रणे राजन् भये जाते महारथा:
te vadhyamānāḥ pārthena kāleneva yugakṣaye | vyadravanta raṇe rājan bhaye jāte mahārathāḥ ||
قال سانجيا: «أيها الملك، كما أنه عند نهاية عصرٍ ما يقطع الزمان (كالا) بنفسه جميع الكائنات، كذلك أيضًا—وقد صرعهم بارثا (أرجونا) في ساحة القتال—فإن عظماء مقاتلي العربات، لما استولى عليهم الخوف، تفرّقوا وولّوا هاربين».
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames battlefield defeat through the ethical-cosmic lens of Kāla (Time/Death): even the mightiest warriors are subject to fear and collapse when confronted by overwhelming force, reminding the listener that power and valor are ultimately bounded by destiny and the inexorable movement of Time.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Arjuna is cutting down opposing champions so decisively that many elite chariot-warriors, panic-stricken, abandon the fight and flee the field, likened to beings perishing at the yuga’s end under Time itself.