Shloka 140
अनुक्रमणिकाध्यायः (Anukramaṇikā Adhyāya) — Invocation, Narrator Frame, and Textual Scope
निरस्य विदुरं भीष्म द्रोणं शारद्वतं कृपम् । विग्रहे तुमुले तस्मिन् दहन् क्षत्रं परस्परम्,(इस अनुमोदन या उपेक्षाका कारण यह था कि वे धर्मनाशक दुष्ट राजाओंका संहार चाहते थे। अतः उन्हें विश्वास था कि) इस विग्रहजनित महान् युद्धमें विदुर, भीष्म, द्रोणाचार्य तथा कृपाचार्यकी अवहेलना करके सभी दुष्ट क्षत्रिय एक-दूसरेको अपनी क्रोधाग्निमें भस्म कर डालेंगे
nirāsya viduraṃ bhīṣmaṃ droṇaṃ śāradvataṃ kṛpam | vigrahe tumule tasmin dahan kṣatraṃ parasparam ||
Setting aside (disregarding) Vidura, Bhīṣma, Droṇa, and Kṛpa, in that fierce conflict, the kṣatriya host would burn one another down in mutual strife—each consumed by the fire of anger.
Educational Q&A
When wise counsel and elder restraint are ignored, conflict escalates into mutual ruin; the verse frames the destruction of unrighteous warrior-kings as arising from their own reciprocal anger and violence, highlighting moral causality (karma-like consequence) within political warfare.
The verse depicts a scenario in which, amid a great and tumultuous war, the influence of key elders—Vidura, Bhīṣma, Droṇa, and Kṛpa—is set aside, and the kṣatriyas end up consuming one another in battle, effectively annihilating themselves through internecine strife.