Shloka 3736
उपायैः पूर्ववधकथनम् / Strategic Justifications for Prior Eliminations
भीरूणां त्रासजनने शूराणां हर्षवर्धने । महान् शब्दसे मुखरित एवं भयंकर रात्रिका प्रथम पहर बीत रहा था, जो कायरोंको डरानेवाला और शूरवीरोंका हर्ष बढ़ानेवाला था
bhīrūṇāṃ trāsajanane śūrāṇāṃ harṣavardhane | mahān śabdaḥ sa mukharitaḥ evaṃ bhayaṅkarā rātrikā prathamaḥ paharaḥ bītaḥ āsa |
Sañjaya berkata: “Gemuruh besar yang menggema itu—mengerikan bagi yang gentar, namun membangkitkan semangat para kesatria—memenuhi angkasa. Demikianlah, di tengah kedahsyatan malam dan hiruk-pikuk pertempuran, lewatlah jaga pertama malam.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The same event—here, the thunderous din of war—affects people according to their inner disposition: it terrifies the fearful but invigorates the courageous. The verse highlights the ethical-psychological contrast between cowardice and valor within the kṣatriya context.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield at night: a tremendous, echoing clamor dominates the scene, and the first watch of the night passes in that frightening atmosphere, with the noise simultaneously demoralizing the timid and emboldening the heroes.