Shloka 40
Duryodhana’s Anxiety, Bhīṣma’s Reassurance, and Renewed Mobilization (दुर्योधनचिन्ता–भीष्मप्रत्याश्वासन–सेनानिर्गमनम्)
तावकाश्न महेष्वासा: पाण्डवाश्न महारथा: | जुद्वन्त: समरे प्राणान् निजघ्नुरितरेतरम्,आपके और पाण्डवपक्षके महाधनुर्धर महारथी वीर समरांगणमें प्राणोंकी आहुति देते हुए एक-दूसरेको मार रहे थे
tāvakāś ca maheṣvāsāḥ pāṇḍavāś ca mahārathāḥ | yudhvantaḥ samare prāṇān nijaghnur itaretaram ||
Sañjaya dijo: Tus poderosos arqueros y los grandes guerreros de carro de los Pāṇḍava, trabados en combate en el campo, se abatían unos a otros, como si ofrecieran sus propias vidas en el furor de la guerra.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when warriors act with courage and martial excellence, war tends toward reciprocal harm: both sides, bound by rivalry and duty, sacrifice life itself. The verse highlights the ethical cost of conflict—valor does not erase the tragedy of mutual slaughter.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Kaurava and Pāṇḍava champions—mighty archers and great chariot-warriors—are actively fighting on the battlefield and killing one another in close, ongoing combat.