Shloka 5
Daśame’hani Bhīṣma-yuddham — Śikhaṇḍī-rakṣaṇa, Arjuna-prabhāva, Duryodhana-āśraya-vākyam
न क्षत्रिया रणे राजन् वर्जयन्ति परस्परम् | निर्मर्याद हि युध्यन्ते पितृभिर्श्रातृभि: सह
sañjaya uvāca | na kṣatriyā raṇe rājan varjayanti parasparam | nirmaryādā hi yudhyante pitṛbhiḥ bhrātṛbhiḥ saha rājan |
Sañjaya said: “O King, kṣatriyas do not spare one another in battle. Indeed, casting aside all restraint, they fight even alongside—or against—their own fathers and brothers.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh logic of kṣatriya warfare: once battle is joined, personal relationships are overridden by the code and momentum of war, leading to a collapse of ordinary familial restraint.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra about the nature of the combatants: on the battlefield, warriors do not hold back, and the conflict is so consuming that even close kin—fathers and brothers—become opponents without the usual limits of conduct.