Shloka 20
Adhyāya 61: Saṃmohana-astra and the Kuru Withdrawal (संमोहनास्त्रं तथा कुरुनिवृत्तिः)
इति मां सड़ता: सर्वे तर्कयिष्यन्ति शत्रव: । शोणितोदां रथावर्ता नागनक्रां दुरत्ययाम् | नदीं प्रस्कन्दयिष्यामि परलोकप्रवाहिनीम्
iti māṁ śaṅkitāḥ sarve tarkayiṣyanti śatravaḥ | śoṇitodāṁ rathāvartāṁ nāganakrāṁ duratyayām | nadīṁ praskandayīṣyāmi paralokapravāhinīm ||
Dijo Vaiśampāyana: «Así, todos los enemigos, colmados de recelo, especularán sobre mí: “¿Con qué mano suelta Arjuna sus flechas: con la derecha o con la izquierda?” Hoy me lanzaré y removeré ese río difícil de cruzar que fluye hacia el otro mundo: el río cuya agua es sangre, cuyos remolinos son carros de guerra y cuyos cocodrilos son elefantes».
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames battle through a moral-psychological lens: a kṣatriya hero must act with fearless resolve, accepting that war leads toward death (paraloka) while maintaining clarity and courage. It also shows how reputation and skill can unsettle opponents—ethical strength here is steadfastness in one’s duty amid mortal stakes.
The narrator reports a boastful, martial declaration about Arjuna’s prowess: enemies will be so confounded that they will debate which hand he shoots with. The opposing army is imagined as a deadly ‘river’—blood for water, chariots for whirlpools, elephants for crocodiles—into which Arjuna vows to plunge and overcome.