Shloka 233
कृष्णोपदेशः, अर्जुनस्य क्षमा-याचनम्, कर्णवध-अनुज्ञा
Krishna’s Counsel, Arjuna’s Apology, and Authorization for Karṇa’s Slaying
आसीदू् बुद्धि: कथं युद्धमेतदद्य भविष्यति | राजेन्द्र! वे दोनों महारथी जब परस्पर भिड़ गये, उस समय वह देखकर मेरे मनमें यह विचार उठने लगा कि न जाने यह युद्ध कैसा होगा?
āsīd buddhiḥ kathaṃ yuddham etad adya bhaviṣyati | rājendra! tau dvau mahārathī yadā parasparaṃ bhiḍitau, tadā tad dṛṣṭvā mama manasi ayaṃ vicāraḥ samutpannaḥ—na jāne idaṃ yuddhaṃ kīdṛśaṃ bhaviṣyati iti ||
Sañjaya said: “A thought arose in my mind: ‘What will this battle be like today?’ O best of kings, when I saw those two great chariot-warriors clash with one another, I was seized by anxious reflection, uncertain of what form this war would take.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral and psychological uncertainty that accompanies violent conflict: even an experienced narrator like Sañjaya, witnessing the clash of two supreme warriors, feels apprehension about the war’s unfolding, underscoring war’s unpredictability and the weight of its consequences.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that, upon seeing two great chariot-warriors engage each other directly, he becomes inwardly unsettled and wonders what the day’s battle will turn into.