Shloka 49
कर्णार्जुनसमागमः — The Karṇa–Arjuna Confrontation
Cosmic Spectatorship and Vows
राजन्! फिर तो उस महासमरमें सहस्रों, लाखों, करोड़ों और अरबों तीखे बाण उस अस्त्रसे प्रकट होने लगे ।।
rājan! punaḥ sa mahāsamare sahasrāṇi lakṣāṇi koṭyo 'rbudāni ca tīkṣṇabāṇāḥ tasmād astrāt prādurabhavan || jvalitais taiḥ śarair ghoraiḥ kaṅkabārhiṇavājitaiḥ | saṃchannā pāṇḍavī senā na prājñāyata kiñcana ||
Wahai Raja, kemudian dalam pertempuran besar itu, dari senjata itu bermunculan anak panah tajam—beribu-ribu, berlaksa-laksa, berjuta-juta, bahkan tak terbilang. Dengan panah-panah yang menyala dan mengerikan itu—berbulu burung nasar dan berhias bulu merak—pasukan Pāṇḍava tertutup rapat, sehingga tak ada apa pun yang tampak jelas.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how the unrestrained deployment of extraordinary weapons (astras) can eclipse clarity and moral judgment: when violence multiplies beyond measure, the battlefield becomes a space of blindness where discrimination (viveka) and humane restraint are easily lost.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a powerful astra has released an immense rain of sharp, blazing arrows. These dreadful shafts, described by their feathered fletching, so densely cover the Pāṇḍava forces that visibility and recognition on the field collapse.