Shloka 42
Śiva’s Battlefield Manifestation and Vyāsa’s Śatarudrīya Exposition (शिवप्रादुर्भावः शतरुद्रीयव्याख्यानम्)
तद् बल॑ भरतश्रेष्ठ वध्यमानं तदा निशि
tad balaṁ bharataśreṣṭha vadhyamānaṁ tadā niśi
Sañjaya said: “O best of the Bharatas, that army, being cut down and destroyed in the darkness of night, …” (the narration continues), highlighting the grim ethical tension of nocturnal slaughter amid the chaos of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral strain of warfare when violence continues under cover of night: even in a kṣatriya conflict governed by norms, chaos and darkness can blur restraint, raising questions of dharma and accountability.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a certain army/force is being slaughtered at night, setting a grim scene of nocturnal fighting and the resulting devastation.