Shloka 13
अर्जुनकर्णयोर्युद्धवर्णनम्
Description of the Arjuna–Karṇa Engagement and Counsel to Duryodhana
अजुन उवाच चोदयाश्वान् हृषीकेश विहायैतद् बलार्णवम् | अजातशशभन्रुं राजान द्रष्टमेच्छामि केशव
arjuna uvāca | codayāśvān hṛṣīkeśa vihāyaitad balārṇavam | ajātaśatruṁ rājānaṁ draṣṭum icchāmi keśava ||
Arjuna sprach: „O Hṛṣīkeśa, treibe die Rosse an und wende dich ab von diesem meeresgleichen Heer der Feinde. O Keśava, ich wünsche König Yudhiṣṭhira zu sehen, den man Ajātaśatru nennt — ‚den ohne Feindschaft‘.“
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid battle, Arjuna’s priority includes respectful coordination and moral regard for rightful leadership: he asks Kṛṣṇa to withdraw from the press of the enemy host so he may meet Yudhiṣṭhira, the ‘Ajātaśatru,’ highlighting the ideal of a ruler who bears no personal enmity and acts from dharma rather than hatred.
In the thick of the Karṇa Parva fighting, Arjuna instructs his charioteer Kṛṣṇa to steer the chariot away from the enemy’s massive formation (‘ocean of army’) because he wants to go and see King Yudhiṣṭhira.