Shloka 18
अध्याय ५०: उत्तरेण सह अर्जुनस्य रथप्रयाणे ध्वजचिह्नैः कौरवसेनानिर्देशः
Arjuna directs Uttara by identifying Kaurava commanders through banners
यं यमेषो5तिसंक्रुद्धः संग्रामे निपतिष्यति । वृक्ष गरुत्मान् वेगेन विनिहत्य तमेष्यति
yaṃ yameṣo ’tisaṃkruddhaḥ saṃgrāme nipatiṣyati | vṛkṣaṃ garutmān vegena vinihatya tameṣyati ||
जिस-जिस पर अत्यन्त क्रुद्ध होकर यमेष—अर्जुन—रणभूमि में टूट पड़ेंगे, उसे वे अपने वेग से नष्ट करके आगे बढ़ जाएँगे; जैसे गरुड़ किसी वृक्ष पर उतरकर अपने वेग से उसे तोड़ देता है और फिर उड़ चलता है।
कृप उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the terrifying momentum of a warrior driven by righteous battle-fury: once set in motion, he does not linger but removes obstacles decisively. Ethically, it also warns that uncontrolled wrath in war becomes death-like, turning the fighter into an instrument of inevitable destruction.
Kṛpa is describing (and implicitly cautioning about) Arjuna’s battlefield effectiveness: when Arjuna becomes intensely angry, he will attack successive great chariot-warriors, destroy them, and press forward—likened to Garuḍa breaking trees as he lands and then flying on.