Shloka 583
कर्णार्जुनसमागमः — The Karṇa–Arjuna Confrontation
Cosmic Spectatorship and Vows
प्रेतराजपुरे यद्धत् प्रेतराजं विचेतस: । सूतपुत्रद्वारा समरांगणमें मारे जाते हुए सूंजय बारंबार अर्जुन और श्रीकृष्णको पुकारते थे। ठीक उसी तरह
pretarājapure yaddhat pretarājaṁ vicetasaḥ | sūtaputradvārā samarāṅgaṇe māryamāṇe sañjayaḥ bāraṁbāram arjunaṁ śrīkṛṣṇaṁ ca pupāra | ṭhīk usī tarah, jaise pretarājake nagarme kleśase acet hue prāṇī pretarāja ko hī pukārate haiṁ |
Sañjaya sprach: Wie hilflose Wesen, die in der Stadt Yamas vor Qual ohnmächtig werden, allein den Herrn der Toten anrufen, so rief auch Sañjaya—als auf dem Schlachtfeld der Sohn des Wagenlenkers (sūta-putra) erschlagen wurde—immer wieder Arjuna und Śrī Kṛṣṇa an.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
In crisis, beings instinctively seek the highest refuge they recognize. The verse uses the image of sufferers in Yama’s realm calling upon Pretarāja to highlight how, amid the terror of death on the battlefield, Sañjaya turns repeatedly to Arjuna and Kṛṣṇa as the decisive protectors and agents of dharma.
During the climactic fighting of Karṇa Parva, as Karṇa (the sūtaputra) is being slain in the battle, Sañjaya—reporting events—repeatedly invokes Arjuna and Śrī Kṛṣṇa, likening his urgent cries to the cries of tormented beings in the realm of Yama.