Shloka 2
कृत्वा संशप्तका घोरं शपथं पारलौकिकम् | परिवत्रुर्नरव्याप्रा नरव्याप्र॑ं रणेडर्जुनम्,उन नरव्याप्र संशप्तक वीरोंने परलोकसम्बन्धी घोर शपथ खाकर पुरुषसिंह अर्जुनको रणभूमिमें चारों ओरसे घेर लिया
sañjaya uvāca | kṛtvā saṃśaptakā ghoraṃ śapathaṃ pāralaukikam | parivavrur naravyāghrāṃ naravyāghraṃ raṇe 'rjunam ||
Sañjaya said: Having taken a dreadful vow, binding even for the next world, the Saṃśaptaka warriors surrounded Arjuna—the tiger among men—on the battlefield. The scene underscores the grim ethic of war: men staking their very afterlife on a sworn pledge, driven by loyalty and enmity, closing in upon a single heroic target.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral weight of vows in a dharma-based culture: warriors bind themselves by an oath believed to have consequences beyond death, showing how commitment, loyalty, and wrath can harden into a self-destructive resolve in war.
A vowed group of fighters called the Saṃśaptakas, after swearing a fearsome otherworld-binding oath, closes in and encircles Arjuna on the battlefield, setting up a concentrated assault against him.