Shloka 45
अथाभ्याशगतानां स खड्गेनामित्रकर्शन: । असिहस्तापहस्ताभ्यां तेषां गात्राण्यकृन्तत,तब शत्रुसूदन इरावानने निकट आनेपर कभी दाहिने और कभी बायें हाथसे तलवार घुमाकर उसके द्वारा शत्रुओंके अंगोंको छिन्न-भिन्न कर दिया
athābhyāśagatānāṃ sa khaḍgenāmitrakarśanaḥ | asihastāpahastābhyāṃ teṣāṃ gātrāṇyakṛntata ||
Sañjaya said: Then that foe-subduer, as the enemies closed in, whirled his sword—now with the right hand, now with the left—and hewed their limbs apart. The scene underscores the grim immediacy of battle, where prowess and resolve are displayed through decisive action, even as the ethical weight of violence remains implicit in the epic’s war setting.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily functions as battlefield narration, highlighting decisive martial action when foes press close. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension: the kṣatriya’s obligation to fight in war versus the human cost of violence.
As enemies approach at close quarters, the warrior (described as a ‘crusher of foes’) swings his sword alternately with right and left hands and severs the attackers’ limbs, depicting intense hand-to-hand combat.