Shloka 41
कस्मादुपेक्षां कुरुषे किरीटि- नुपेक्षितुं नायमिहाद्य काल: । यया धृत्या सर्वभूतान्यजैषी- ग्रांसं ददत् खाण्डवे पावकाय
kasmādupekṣāṁ kuruṣe kirīṭin upekṣituṁ nāyam ihādya kālaḥ | yayā dhṛtyā sarvabhūtāny ajaiṣī grāsaṁ dadat khāṇḍave pāvakāya ||
Sañjaya dit : «Pourquoi, ô Kirīṭin (Arjuna), fais-tu preuve d’indifférence ? Ce n’est pas aujourd’hui le temps de l’indifférence. Par cette même résolution inébranlable grâce à laquelle jadis tu as vaincu tous les êtres—lorsque, dans la forêt de Khāṇḍava, tu donnas au dieu du Feu sa part—c’est maintenant qu’il faut agir avec un courage pareil, sans vaciller.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Do not lapse into indifference at a decisive moment; recall one’s proven steadfastness and act according to duty. The verse frames resolve (dhṛti) as an ethical resource—past righteous courage should be reawakened to meet present responsibility.
Sañjaya rebukes Arjuna for seeming to hold back in the battle context and urges him to fight with the same determination he once displayed during the Khāṇḍava episode, when Arjuna aided Agni (Pāvaka) by enabling him to consume the forest—an allusion used to rekindle Arjuna’s martial energy.