Shloka 13
Adhyāya 41 — Kṛṣṇa’s Battlefield Briefing and the Renewal of the Great Engagement
अपां पतिर्वेगवानप्रमेयो निमज्जयिष्यन् बहुला: प्रजाश्न
apāṁ patir vegavān aprameyo nimajjayiṣyan bahulāḥ prajāḥ
Sañjaya said: “The Lord of the waters—swift and beyond measure—seemed intent on submerging multitudes of people.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses the image of an immeasurable, fast-moving ‘lord of waters’ to convey how overwhelming forces—especially those unleashed by war and unrighteous ambition—can engulf not only warriors but also the wider populace. Ethically, it warns that collective harm (prajā-hāni) is a grave consequence of unchecked power.
Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, describes a scene of catastrophic, sweeping danger. The language is metaphorical: like a vast ocean about to submerge many people, the onrushing violence of the conflict appears ready to overwhelm multitudes.