Shloka 4
कथं च युद्ध सम्भूतं तयो: प्राणदुरोदरे । अत्र मन्ये समायत्तो जयो वाजय एव च,उन दोनोंमें प्राणोंकी बाजी लगाकर किस प्रकार युद्ध हुआ? मैं समझता हूँ कि यहीं उभय पक्षकी जय अथवा विजय निर्भर है
sañjaya uvāca | kathaṃ ca yuddha-sambhūtaṃ tayoḥ prāṇa-durodare | atra manye samāyatto jayo vā jaya eva ca ||
Sañjaya said: “And how did the battle arise between those two, when their very lives were staked in a perilous contest? In my judgment, it is here that the outcome is decided—whether victory will belong to one side or the other.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical gravity of war: when life itself is wagered, a single confrontation can become the decisive pivot of victory. It frames the moment as one where consequences are immediate and irreversible, urging attention to the stakes rather than mere spectacle.
Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, asks how the clash between “those two” unfolded in a life-staked, perilous encounter, and he judges that the larger victory of either side depends upon what happens right here.