Shloka 19
Chapter 23: Śakuni Reports, Kaurava Advance, and Arjuna’s Penetration of the Host
अतिप्रवृत्ते युद्धे च छिद्यमानेषु मर्मसु । धावमानेषु योधेषु जयगृद्धिषु मारिष
sañjaya uvāca | atipravṛtte yuddhe ca chidyamāneṣu marmasu | dhāvamāneṣu yodheṣu jayagṛddhiṣu māriṣa ||
Sañjaya dit : «Ô vénérable, lorsque la bataille devint d’une démesure sans frein — lorsque l’on tranchait et perçait les points vitaux, et que les guerriers, avides de victoire, couraient en tous sens — alors le combat franchit les bornes du convenable et se changea en un carnage impitoyable.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war, once it exceeds restraint (maryādā), becomes ethically corrosive: the pursuit of victory (jaya-gṛddhi) leads to attacks on vital points (marma), turning combat into indiscriminate destruction and signaling a collapse of dharmic limits.
Sañjaya reports to the blind king (addressed as māriṣa) that the battle has intensified into a chaotic melee: warriors are rushing in all directions, striking at vulnerable vital spots, driven by the desire to win.