Shloka 52
Rajo-dhūli-saṃmūḍha-saṅgrāmaḥ
The Dust-Obscured Battle and Mutual Charges
ततः सैन्येषु भग्नेषु मथितेषु च सर्वश: । प्राप्ते चास्तं दिनकरे न प्राज्ञायत किंचन,इस प्रकार सारी सेना मथित हो उठी, व्यूह भंग हो गया और सूर्य अस्ताचलको चले गये; उस समय अँधेरेमें कुछ भी सूझ नहीं पड़ता था
tataḥ sainyeṣu bhagneṣu mathiteṣu ca sarvaśaḥ | prāpte cāstaṃ dinakare na prājñāyata kiṃcana ||
Sañjaya said: Then, when the armies had been broken and thrown into complete confusion on every side, and when the sun had reached its setting, nothing at all could be clearly made out in the darkness. The day’s violence ends not by resolution but by the limits of sight, leaving the field in uncertainty and moral disquiet.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how violence and disorder culminate in confusion: when order (vyūha) collapses and daylight ends, certainty vanishes. It hints at the ethical and practical limits of human control in war—actions generate turmoil, and even perception becomes unreliable.
Sañjaya reports that the battle formations have broken and the troops are in total disarray. As the sun sets, darkness spreads over the field, and it becomes impossible to distinguish what is happening or who is where.