Shloka 4
Adhyāya 107 — बहुयुद्धप्रकरणम्
Multiple Defensive Engagements to Protect Bhīṣma
ते वध्यमाना: पार्थेन कालेनेव युगक्षये । व्यद्रवन्त रणे राजन् भये जाते महारथा:,राजन! जैसे युगान्तमें साक्षात् कालके द्वारा सारी प्रजा मारी जाती है, उसी प्रकार रणक्षेत्रमें अर्जुनके द्वारा मारे जाते हुए सारे महारथी युद्धका मैदान छोड़कर भागने लगे
te vadhyamānāḥ pārthena kāleneva yugakṣaye | vyadravanta raṇe rājan bhaye jāte mahārathāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “As at the end of an age Time itself cuts down all beings, so too—struck down by Pārtha (Arjuna) on the battlefield—the great chariot-warriors, seized by fear, broke ranks and fled, O King.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames battlefield defeat through the ethical-cosmic lens of Kāla (Time/Death): even the mightiest warriors are subject to fear and collapse when confronted by overwhelming force, reminding the listener that power and valor are ultimately bounded by destiny and the inexorable movement of Time.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Arjuna is cutting down opposing champions so decisively that many elite chariot-warriors, panic-stricken, abandon the fight and flee the field, likened to beings perishing at the yuga’s end under Time itself.