Shloka 52
कर्णार्जुनसमागमः — The Karṇa–Arjuna Confrontation
Cosmic Spectatorship and Vows
प्राकम्पत मही राजन् निहतैस्तै: समन्ततः । व्याकुलं सर्वमभवत् पाण्डवानां महद् बलम्
prākampata mahī rājan nihatais taiḥ samantataḥ | vyākulaṃ sarvam abhavat pāṇḍavānāṃ mahad balam ||
Sañjaya dijo: «Oh Rey, la tierra tembló cuando aquellos guerreros fueron abatidos por todas partes. El gran ejército de los Pāṇḍavas quedó por completo turbado y sumido en confusión.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral and human cost of war: mass slaughter destabilizes not only armies but the very world-symbolized by the trembling earth—suggesting that adharma and unchecked violence produce widespread disturbance and suffering.
Sanjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that heavy casualties have occurred on all sides, causing the earth to shake and throwing the Pāṇḍavas’ large force into agitation and disorder amid the ongoing battle.