Shloka 20
Adhyāya 61: Saṃmohana-astra and the Kuru Withdrawal (संमोहनास्त्रं तथा कुरुनिवृत्तिः)
इति मां सड़ता: सर्वे तर्कयिष्यन्ति शत्रव: । शोणितोदां रथावर्ता नागनक्रां दुरत्ययाम् | नदीं प्रस्कन्दयिष्यामि परलोकप्रवाहिनीम्
iti māṁ śaṅkitāḥ sarve tarkayiṣyanti śatravaḥ | śoṇitodāṁ rathāvartāṁ nāganakrāṁ duratyayām | nadīṁ praskandayīṣyāmi paralokapravāhinīm ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: „So werden alle Feinde, von Argwohn erfüllt, über mich spekulieren: ‚Mit welcher Hand lässt Arjuna seine Pfeile fliegen — mit der rechten oder mit der linken?‘ Heute werde ich in jenen schwer zu durchquerenden Strom springen und ihn aufwühlen, der in die jenseitige Welt fließt — den Strom, dessen Wasser Blut ist, dessen Strudel Streitwagen sind und dessen Krokodile Elefanten sind.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames battle through a moral-psychological lens: a kṣatriya hero must act with fearless resolve, accepting that war leads toward death (paraloka) while maintaining clarity and courage. It also shows how reputation and skill can unsettle opponents—ethical strength here is steadfastness in one’s duty amid mortal stakes.
The narrator reports a boastful, martial declaration about Arjuna’s prowess: enemies will be so confounded that they will debate which hand he shoots with. The opposing army is imagined as a deadly ‘river’—blood for water, chariots for whirlpools, elephants for crocodiles—into which Arjuna vows to plunge and overcome.