Shloka 5
तेषां च पार्थस्य च मारिषासीद् देहासुपापक्षपणं सुयुद्धम् । त्रैलोक्यहेतोरसुरैर्यथा55सीद् देवस्य विष्णोर्जयतां वरस्य
teṣāṁ ca pārthasya ca māriṣāsīd dehāsu-pāpa-kṣapaṇaṁ su-yuddham | trailokya-hetor asurair yathāsīd devasya viṣṇor jayatāṁ varasya ||
Sañjaya sprach: Da erhob sich, o Ehrwürdiger, ein wilder und doch erhabener Kampf zwischen jenen Kriegern und Pārtha (Arjuna) — ein Gefecht, das Körper und Leben vernichtete und wie eine Sühne der Sünden wirkte. Es war wie der Krieg, den einst der Gott Viṣṇu, der Beste unter den Siegreichen, gegen die Asuras um die Herrschaft über die drei Welten führte.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames righteous warfare as both a kṣatriya obligation and a moral reckoning: the battle is portrayed as 'pāpa-kṣapaṇa' (sin-destroying/expiatory), and Arjuna’s struggle is elevated by comparison to Viṣṇu’s cosmic fight to uphold order across the three worlds.
Sañjaya reports that a dreadful, decisive clash begins between Arjuna and the opposing warriors. The intensity is likened to Viṣṇu’s ancient conflict with the Asuras for dominion over the three worlds, emphasizing the scale and gravity of the encounter.