Shloka 41
कृष्णेन अर्जुनस्य प्रोत्साहनम् — Kṛṣṇa’s Exhortation to Arjuna
Prelude to Karṇa’s Slaying
श्रावयाणाक्ष बहवस्तत्र योद्धा विशाम्पते । अन्योन्यमवमृद्नन्त: शक्तितोमरपट्टिशै:
śrāvayāṇākṣa bahavas tatra yoddhā viśāmpate | anyonyam avamṛdnantaḥ śakti-tomara-paṭṭiśaiḥ ||
সঞ্জয় বললেন—হে প্রজানাথ! সেখানে বহু যোদ্ধা নাম-গোত্র উচ্চারণ করতে করতে পরস্পরের ওপর ঝাঁপিয়ে পড়ল এবং শক্তি, তোমর ও পট্টিশ দিয়ে আঘাত করে ঘনিষ্ঠ যুদ্ধে একে অন্যকে পিষে দিল।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the brutal immediacy of war: when conflict escalates into close combat, it becomes a mutual crushing driven by weapons and force. Implicitly, it invites reflection on the ethical weight of choosing war and the human cost that follows from adharma-driven rivalry.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that many fighters on the battlefield are locked in melee, creating a tremendous clamor while striking each other with spears, javelins, and axes.