Shloka 43
Chapter 23: Śakuni Reports, Kaurava Advance, and Arjuna’s Penetration of the Host
तदुद्यतगदाप्रासमकापुरुषसेवितम् | प्रावर्तत महद् युद्ध राजन दुर्मन्त्रिते तव
tad udyata-gadā-prāsaṃ akā-puruṣa-sevitam | prāvartata mahad yuddhaṃ rājan durmantrite tava ||
Sañjaya sprach: „Dann, o König, begann infolge deines schlechten Rates jene große Schlacht—nicht von Feiglingen, sondern von Helden getragen—während die Krieger mit erhobenen Keulen und Speeren zum Kampf bereitstanden.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores moral responsibility in leadership: misguided counsel (durmantrita) given or accepted by a king can unleash vast harm. It frames war not as an abstract fate but as a consequence of ethical failure in judgment and governance.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the great battle has begun. Warriors stand prepared with maces and spears raised, and the conflict is depicted as one entered by the brave rather than the cowardly—while also being explicitly linked to the king’s ill-advised decisions.