Shloka 41
कर्णार्जुनसमागमः — The Karṇa–Arjuna Confrontation
Cosmic Spectatorship and Vows
त्वयि तिष्ठति संत्रासात् पलायनपरायणा । एतज्ज्ञात्वा महाबाहो कुरु प्राप्तमरिंदम,“शत्रुदमन महाबाहु वीर! तुम्हारे रहते हुए भयके कारण मेरी सेना भाग रही है; यह जानकर इस समय जो कर्तव्य प्राप्त हो उसे करो
tvayi tiṣṭhati saṃtrāsāt palāyanaparāyaṇāḥ | etaj jñātvā mahābāho kuru prāptam ariṃdama ||
Sañjaya sprach: „Obwohl du noch standhaft dastehst, sind meine Truppen, vom Schrecken überwältigt, ganz auf die Flucht bedacht. Da du dies weißt, o Starkarmiger, o Feindbezwinger, tue nun die Pflicht, die in diesem Augenblick an dich herangetreten ist.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
In a moment of collective panic, a leader is urged to recognize the situation clearly and perform the immediate, rightful duty (prāpta-kartavya): steadiness, decisive action, and protection of the force, rather than yielding to fear.
Sañjaya reports that the speaker’s side is breaking in fear and turning to flight even though the addressed hero is still present. He exhorts that hero—praised as mighty-armed and enemy-crushing—to act at once according to the urgent duty demanded by the battlefield crisis.