Shloka 41
द्रोण–सात्यकि-युद्धम्
Droṇa–Sātyaki Engagement
पुत्रशोकाभिसंतप्तं क्रुद्धं मृत्युमिवान्तकम् । त्यजन्तं तुमुले प्राणान् संनद्धं चित्रयोधिनम्,अर्जुन पुत्रशोकसे संतप्त एवं कुपित हुए प्राणान्तक मृत्युके समान प्रतीत होते थे। वे उस भयंकर युद्धमें अपने प्राणोंको निछावर करनेके लिये उद्यत, कवच आदिसे सुसज्जित और विचित्र रीतिसे युद्ध करनेवाले थे। जैसे यूथयति गजराज गजसमूहमें प्रवेश करता है, उसी प्रकार आपकी सेनाओंमें घुसते हुए महाधनुर्धर परम पराक्रमी उन नरश्रेष्ठ अर्जुनको पूर्वोक्त योद्धाओंने आकर रोका
sañjaya uvāca | putraśokābhisantaptaṃ kruddhaṃ mṛtyum ivāntakam | tyajantaṃ tumule prāṇān sannaddhaṃ citrayodhinam ||
Sañjaya said: Arjuna, scorched by grief for his son and inflamed with wrath, looked like Death itself, the Ender. In that tumultuous battle he was resolved to cast away his very life, fully armoured and fighting with wondrous, varied skill. As a lordly elephant plunges into a herd, so the mighty bowman Arjuna, best of men, forced his way into your armies—yet the warriors named earlier came forward and checked him.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how grief and anger can transform a righteous warrior into an almost death-like force; it implicitly warns that even dharmic aims in war are morally perilous when driven by personal sorrow and wrath, demanding restraint and clarity of purpose.
After the loss of his son, Arjuna enters the battle in a fierce, self-sacrificial mood, fully armed and fighting with exceptional skill, pushing into the Kaurava ranks; the opposing warriors (mentioned in preceding verses) move to block and restrain his advance.