Shloka 45
अध्याय ८० — मध्यंदिन-रणवृत्तान्तः
Yudhiṣṭhira–Śrutāyu encounter; Cekitāna–Gautama clash; Abhimanyu pressure; Arjuna’s redeployment
क्रुद्धों भृशं तव पुत्रेषु राजन् दैत्येषु यद्वत् समरे महेन्द्र: । ततो व्यमुहा॒न्त रणे नृवीरा: प्रमोहनास्त्राहतबुद्धिसत्त्वा:
kruddho bhṛśaṁ tava putreṣu rājan daityeṣu yadvat samare mahendraḥ | tato vyamuhyanta raṇe nṛvīrāḥ pramohanāstrāhatabuddhisattvāḥ ||
Dijo Sañjaya: Oh rey, ardió en feroz ira contra tus hijos, como Mahendra (Indra) arde contra los Daityas en la batalla. Entonces, en el campo de guerra, los héroes quedaron desconcertados: su entendimiento y su firmeza fueron abatidos por el arma que extravía.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how uncontrolled wrath in war escalates violence, and how the use of deluding force (pramohana-astra) can disable discernment and courage—raising an ethical tension between victory by power and victory aligned with dharma.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a warrior, furious at the Kauravas, acts like Indra battling the Daityas; as a result, fighters on the field become confused because their minds and resolve are struck by a stupefying weapon.