Shloka 130
Vāsudeva-Māhātmya: Duryodhana’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Theological Account of Keśava
अर्जुनके बाणसमूहोंसे उस नदीका प्राकट्य हुआ था। वह चर्बी, मज्जा तथा रक्त बहानेके कारण बड़ी भयंकर जान पड़ती थी। इस प्रकार कौरवसेनाके प्रधान-प्रधान वीर अर्जुनके द्वारा मारे गये। यह देखकर चेदि, पांचाल, करूष और मत्स्यदेशके क्षत्रिय तथा कुन्तीके पुत्र--ये सभी नरवीर विजय पानेसे निर्भय हो कौरवयोद्धाओंको भयभीत करते हुए एक साथ सिंहनाद करने लगे ।। हतप्रवीराणि बलानि दृष्टवा किरीटिना शत्रुभयावहेन । वित्रास्य सेनां ध्वजिनीपतीनां सिंहो मृगाणामिव यूथसड्घान्
hatapravīrāṇi balāni dṛṣṭvā kirīṭinā śatrubhayāvahena | vitrāsya senāṁ dhvajinīpatīnāṁ siṁho mṛgāṇām iva yūthasaṅghān ||
Sañjaya said: Seeing the Kaurava forces bereft of their foremost heroes—slain by the diademed Arjuna, who struck terror into his enemies—the allied warriors (Cedi, Pāñcāla, Karūṣa, and Matsya) together with Kuntī’s sons, now fearless in the hope of victory, raised a single lion-roar, frightening the Kaurava commanders and their divisions, like a lion scattering herds of deer. The scene underscores how prowess in war can swiftly shift morale, yet the ethical weight of slaughter remains implicit in the dread and upheaval it causes.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how the fall of key leaders can collapse an army’s confidence and embolden the opposing side. Ethically, it points to the grave human cost of war: victory is intertwined with fear, loss, and the destabilization that follows the killing of ‘foremost heroes,’ reminding readers that martial success carries heavy moral and social consequences.
After Arjuna has slain prominent Kaurava warriors, the Kaurava forces appear leaderless and shaken. Seeing this, the allied fighters—Cedi, Pāñcāla, Karūṣa, Matsya, and the sons of Kuntī—become confident of victory and roar together like lions, terrifying the Kaurava commanders and their troops.