Shloka 13
धृतराष्ट्रस्य संजयप्रश्नः
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Inquiry to Saṃjaya on Strategic Comparisons
एवं प्रतिष्ठाप्प धनंजयो मां ततोडर्थवद् धर्मवच्चापि वाक्यम् | प्रोवाचेदं वासुदेवं समीक्ष्य पार्थों धीमॉल्लोहितान्तायताक्ष:,शराग्निधूमे रथनेमिनादिते धनु:खुवेणास्त्रबलप्रसारिणा । यथा न होम: क्रियते महामृथे समेत्य सर्वे प्रयतध्वमादृता: “राजाओ! महान् युद्धरूपी यज्ञमें जहाँ बाणोंके टकरानेसे पैदा होनेवाली आगका धुआँ फैलता रहता है, रथोंकी घर्घराहट ही वेदमन्त्रोंकी ध्वनिका काम देती है, (शास्त्रबलसे सम्पादित होनेवाले यज्ञकी भाँति) अस्त्रबलसे ही फैलनेवाले धनुषरूपी खुवाके द्वारा मुझे जिस प्रकार कौरवसैन्यरूपी हविष्यकी आहुति न देनी पड़े, उसके लिये तुम सब लोग सादर प्रयत्न करो
evaṁ pratiṣṭhāpya dhanañjayo māṁ tato ’rthavad dharmavac cāpi vākyam | provācedaṁ vāsudevaṁ samīkṣya pārtho dhīmāṁ lohitāntāyatākṣaḥ || śarāgnidhūme rathaneminādite dhanuḥkhuveṇāstrabalaprasāriṇā | yathā na homaḥ kriyate mahāmṛdhe sametya sarve prayatadhvam ādṛtāḥ ||
Having thus reassured me, Dhanañjaya (Arjuna) then spoke words that were both purposeful and in accord with dharma. Looking intently at Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa), that wise Pārtha—his eyes red at the corners and wide—said: “O kings, in this great battle, which is like a sacrifice—where the smoke of the fire is the haze raised by clashing arrows, where the rumbling of chariot-wheels serves as the sound of Vedic chants, and where the bow is the ladle by which offerings are cast through the force of weapons—strive together, all of you, with earnest care, so that I may not be compelled to perform the ‘oblation’ of the Kaurava host.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames war through the ethical lens of dharma: even when conflict becomes unavoidable, it should be approached with sober purpose and collective effort to prevent needless slaughter. By casting battle as a distorted ‘sacrifice,’ it underscores the gravity of violence and the responsibility to exhaust prudent measures so that destruction does not become the default offering.
Sañjaya reports that Arjuna, after steadying Sañjaya (or having been steadied in the exchange) and then looking at Kṛṣṇa, speaks to assembled kings. He uses an extended yajña metaphor—arrows as fire and smoke, chariot-noise as Vedic chant, the bow as the ladle—to urge earnest, united effort so that he will not have to ‘offer’ the Kaurava forces in the great battle.