Shloka 40
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ५७
Arjuna’s targeted advance; Śalya–Karṇa dialogue; interception attempts
परित्यज्य प्रियानन्ये बान्धवान् बान्धवप्रिया: । व्युत्क्रान्ता: समदृश्यन्त तत्र तत्र महारणे
sañjaya uvāca | parityajya priyān anye bāndhavān bāndhavapriyāḥ | vyutkrāntāḥ samadṛśyanta tatra tatra mahāraṇe ||
Sañjaya sprach: In jener weiten und schrecklichen Schlacht sah man manche—obwohl sie ihren Verwandten innig ergeben waren—hier und dort leblos daliegen, nachdem sie die geliebten Angehörigen verlassen hatten. Das Bild zeigt, wie der Krieg selbst die stärksten Bande der Zuneigung zerreißt und die Liebe zur Familie in Trauer und Ohnmacht verwandelt, wenn Leben und Pflicht zusammenbrechen.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the tragic cost of war: even those most attached to family ties cannot preserve them amid mass violence. Affection and kinship, normally sources of support, become powerless before death, highlighting impermanence and the ethical weight of choosing war.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene to the listener: many fighters who loved their relatives are now seen dead in various places, having left behind their dear kinsmen. It is a report of widespread casualties and the disintegration of family lines in the great combat.