Shloka 49
Śalya–Yudhiṣṭhira Duel and the Discharge of the Śakti (शल्यवधप्रसङ्गः)
विवृताक्षश्व कौन्तेयो वेपमानश्व मन्युना । चिच्छेद योधान् निशितै: शरै: शतसहसत्रश:,क्रोधसे काँपते तथा आँखें फाड़-फाड़कर देखते हुए कुन्तीकुमारने अपने पैने बाणोंद्वारा सैकड़ों और हजारों शत्रुसैनिकोंका संहार कर डाला
vivṛtākṣaś ca kaunteyo vepamānaś ca manyunā | ciccheda yodhān niśitaiḥ śaraiḥ śata-sahasraśaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Kuntī’s son, his eyes flung wide with fierce intensity and his body trembling with wrath, cut down the warriors with razor-sharp arrows—slaying them by the hundreds and the thousands. The scene reveals the terrible momentum of battle, where anger becomes a driving force that multiplies destruction and tests the bounds of dharma amid war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger (manyu) can intensify violence and accelerate destruction in war. Even within kṣatriya-duty, wrath is shown as a powerful, destabilizing force—raising ethical tension between necessary combat and the inner passions that can eclipse restraint.
Sañjaya describes Arjuna (Kaunteya) in a heightened battle-state—eyes wide, trembling with fury—cutting down enemy warriors with sharp arrows in enormous numbers, emphasizing the ferocity and scale of the fighting.