Shloka 5
Nakula–Śakuni Duel and the Night Battle; Śikhaṇḍin–Kṛpa Engagement (नकुल-शकुनियुद्धं तथा रात्रियुद्धवर्णनम्)
अद्य मद्वाणनिर्दग्ध॑ पतितं धरणीतले । द्रक्ष्यतस्त्वां रणे वीरी सहितौ केशवार्जुनौ,“आज युद्धमें वीर श्रीकृष्ण और अर्जुन दोनों एक साथ तुम्हें मेरे बाणोंसे दग्ध होकर पृथ्वीपर पड़ा हुआ देखेंगे
adya mad-vāṇa-nirdagdhaḥ patitaṃ dharaṇī-tale | drakṣyatas tvāṃ raṇe vīrau sahitau keśavārjunau ||
“Hari ini, terbakar oleh anak panahku, engkau akan rebah ke tanah; dan di medan laga, dua pahlawan—Keśava dan Arjuna—yang berdiri bersama akan menyaksikanmu tergeletak.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in the heat of war, certainty of victory and the desire for the enemy’s humiliation can eclipse reflective dharma. It implicitly warns that martial resolve often carries an ethical cost: the opponent is reduced to an object of spectacle—‘to be seen fallen’—rather than a moral agent.
Sanjaya reports a warrior’s battle-taunt or confident prediction: the addressed opponent will be struck down by the speaker’s arrows and will be seen lying on the ground by Kṛṣṇa (Keśava) and Arjuna, who are fighting together on the battlefield.