Shloka 32
Adhyāya 41 — Kṛṣṇa’s Battlefield Briefing and the Renewal of the Great Engagement
शत्रु: शदे: शासतेर्वा श्यतेर्वा शणातेर्वा श्वसते: सीदते्वा
śatruḥ śadeḥ śāsatervā śyatervā śaṇātervā śvasateḥ sīdatetvā
Sañjaya said: “The word ‘enemy’ (śatru) is understood in several senses—one who harms, one who rules or chastises, one who pierces or strikes, one who destroys, one who breathes out (as if to consume), or one who causes another to sink into distress.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames ‘enemy’ not merely as a battlefield opponent but as anyone who causes harm, subjugation, wounding, or inner collapse—suggesting an ethical lens where enmity is defined by actions and effects rather than by labels alone.
Sañjaya offers a lexical/interpretive clarification of the term ‘śatru’ through multiple root-derivations, sharpening how the listener should understand ‘enemy’ within the war narrative and its moral stakes.