Shloka 39
Duryodhana’s Anxiety, Bhīṣma’s Reassurance, and Renewed Mobilization (दुर्योधनचिन्ता–भीष्मप्रत्याश्वासन–सेनानिर्गमनम्)
तब कृपाचार्य सब सैनिकोंके देखते-देखते लक्ष्मणको अपने रथपर बिठाकर युद्धभूमिमें वहाँसे अन्यत्र हटा ले गये ।। ततः समाकुले तस्मिन् वर्तमाने महा भये । अभ्यद्रवज्जिघांसन्त: परस्परवधैषिण:,तदनन्तर उस महाभयंकर संघर्षमें सब योद्धा विपक्षीको मारनेकी इच्छा रखकर एक- दूसरेका वध करनेके लिये परस्पर टूट पड़े
tataḥ samākule tasmin vartamāne mahābhaye | abhyadravaj jighāṃsantaḥ parasparavadha-eṣiṇaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Then, before the eyes of all the soldiers, Kripacharya set Lakshmana upon his chariot and drew him away from the battlefield to another place. After that, as confusion and great terror arose, the warriors—each bent on killing the opposing side and seeking one another’s ruin—rushed upon each other, plunging into mutual slaughter.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
When fear and confusion dominate, the moral and strategic restraints that should govern warfare collapse, and violence escalates into reciprocal destruction. The verse highlights the ethical danger of letting hatred and panic replace discernment.
Sañjaya describes a moment in the battle when the field becomes chaotic and terrifying; warriors on both sides, driven by the desire to kill, charge at one another seeking mutual slaughter.