Shloka 113
पार्थभूतममन्यन्त प्रेक्षमाणास्तथाविधम् | समरभूमिमें अर्जुनके नामसे अंकित बाणोंकी चोट खाते हुए कौरव-सैनिक उन्हें उसी रूपमें देखते हुए सब कुछ अर्जुनमय ही मानने लगे
pārthabhūtam amanyanta prekṣamāṇās tathāvidham | samara-bhūmau ’rjuna-nāmāṅkita-bāṇa-prahāraṁ prāpya kaurava-sainikās taṁ tathā-rūpaṁ paśyantaḥ sarvaṁ arjunamayaṁ evāmanyanta |
Sanjaya said: Beholding him in that extraordinary state upon the battlefield, the Kaurava soldiers—struck by arrows bearing Arjuna’s name—began to regard him as Arjuna himself. Seeing him thus, they felt that all before them was pervaded by Arjuna alone, as fear and awe overwhelmed their judgment amid the violence of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how overwhelming prowess in war can distort perception: fear and repeated impact make opponents see a single heroic agency everywhere. Ethically, it underscores the psychological dimension of kṣatriya-dharma—courage and steadiness are as decisive as weapons, while panic turns the mind into a battlefield of its own.
Sanjaya reports that the Kaurava troops, being struck by arrows bearing Arjuna’s name and witnessing a warrior’s formidable display, begin to think he is Arjuna himself. In their terror and astonishment, they feel the entire scene is ‘Arjuna-filled,’ as if Arjuna’s presence dominates everything on the field.