Shloka 39
भीष्मरक्षण-प्रकरणम् / The Protective Screen around Bhīṣma and the Śalya–Yudhiṣṭhira Clash
युद्धे हि क्षत्रियांस्तात पाण्डवानां जयैषिण: । सर्वानन्यान् हनिष्यामि सम्प्राप्तान् रणमूर्थनि,“तात! पाण्डवपक्षके दूसरे जो-जो विजयाभिलाषी क्षत्रिय युद्धके मुहानेपर मेरे सामने आयेंगे, उन सबका मैं वध करूँगा'
yuddhe hi kṣatriyāṁs tāta pāṇḍavānāṁ jayaiṣiṇaḥ | sarvān anyān haniṣyāmi samprāptān raṇamūrdhani ||
Sañjaya said: “In battle, dear one, I shall slay all those other kṣatriyas who, seeking the Pāṇḍavas’ victory, come before me at the very forefront of the fight.” The utterance frames war as a field of vowed violence, where loyalty to one side is treated as sufficient cause for lethal action, revealing the hardening of ethical perception under martial resolve.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, allegiance and the pursuit of victory can eclipse broader ethical discernment: opponents are reduced to “victory-seekers for the Pāṇḍavas,” and killing is framed as a determined duty-like resolve. It invites reflection on the tension between kṣatriya martial obligation and the moral narrowing that accompanies enmity.
Sañjaya reports a warrior’s fierce declaration of intent: whoever among the kṣatriyas comes forward on the Pāṇḍavas’ side, seeking their victory, will be slain when encountered at the front of the battle.