Shloka 19
द्रोणपर्व (अध्याय १) — भीष्मनिधनानन्तरं धृतराष्ट्रस्य शोकः, सेनायाः स्थितिः, कर्णस्मरणं च
Droṇa Parva, Chapter 1: Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s grief after Bhīṣma’s fall and the army’s reorientation toward Karṇa
क्रोधसंरक्तनयना: समवेत्य परस्परम् । पुनर्युद्धाय निर्जग्मु: क्षत्रिया: कालचोदिता:,इसी प्रकार परस्पर वार्तालाप करके भीष्मजीकी रक्षाकी व्यवस्था कर दी और उन गंगानन्दन देवव्रतकी अनुमति ले उनकी परिक्रमा करके आपसमें मिलकर वे कालवप्रेरित क्षत्रिय क्रोधसे लाल आँखें किये पुनः युद्धके लिये निकले
krodhasaṃraktanayanāḥ samavetya parasparam | punar yuddhāya nirjagmuḥ kṣatriyāḥ kālacoditāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: With eyes reddened by anger, the kṣatriya warriors gathered together and conferred among themselves; then, driven onward as if by Time itself, they set out once more for battle. The verse underscores how wrath and the inexorable pressure of kāla (fate/time) propel even deliberating men back into the cycle of violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights two forces that erode ethical restraint in war: krodha (anger), which clouds perception, and kāla (Time/fate), which presses events forward. Even after mutual consultation, the warriors return to battle, suggesting how difficult it is to step out of a momentum driven by passion and the larger current of destiny.
Sañjaya reports that the assembled kṣatriya warriors, their eyes inflamed with anger, meet and speak among themselves and then march out again to resume fighting, as though compelled by the power of Time.