Shloka 133
Vāsudeva-Māhātmya: Duryodhana’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Theological Account of Keśava
चक्रुर्निशां संधिगतां समीक्ष्य विभावसोलेंहितरागयुक्ताम् । तदनन्तर शस्त्रोंके आघातसे अत्यन्त क्षत-विक्षत अंगोंवाले भीष्म, द्रोण, दुर्योधन, बाह्लिक तथा अन्य कौरवयोद्धाओंने सूर्यदेवको अपनी किरणोंको समेटते देख और उस भयंकर ऐन्द्रास्त्रको प्रलयंकर अग्निके समान सर्वत्र व्याप्त एवं असह हुआ जानकर सूर्यकी लालीसे युक्त संध्या एवं निशाके आरम्भकालका अवलोकन कर सेनाको युद्धभूमिसे लौटा लिया ।। १३१-१३२ ह ।। अवाप्य कीर्ति च यशश्ष लोके विजित्य शत्रूंक्ष धनंजयोडपि
cakrur niśāṃ sandhigatāṃ samīkṣya vibhāvaso lehitarāga-yuktām | tadanantaraṃ śastrāṅke āghātataḥ atyanta-kṣata-vikṣata-aṅgāḥ bhīṣma-droṇa-duryodhana-bāhlika-tathā anye kaurava-yoddhāḥ sūryadevaṃ sva-kiraṇān sametantaṃ dṛṣṭvā, taṃ ca bhayaṅkaraṃ aindrāstraṃ pralayaṅkara-agni-sadṛśaṃ sarvatra vyāptaṃ asahyaṃ ca jñātvā, sūrya-lālī-yuktāṃ sandhyāṃ niśā-ārambha-kālaṃ ca avalokya senāṃ yuddha-bhūmeḥ pratyāhṛtya nivartayām āsuḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Seeing that night had set in, tinged with the reddish glow of the setting sun, the Kaurava champions—Bhīṣma, Droṇa, Duryodhana, Bāhlika, and others—whose bodies were grievously wounded by the blows of weapons, observed the Sun drawing in his rays. Realizing that the dreadful Indra-weapon had spread everywhere like the fire of cosmic dissolution and had become unbearable, and noting the onset of twilight and the beginning of night, they withdrew the army from the battlefield. The moment underscores a war-time ethic: when darkness falls and a catastrophic weapon makes combat indiscriminate, even hardened warriors recognize the need to halt and regroup rather than pursue slaughter without restraint.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid total war, dharma imposes limits: when night falls and a devastating divine weapon makes combat indiscriminate and unbearable, the responsible course is to stop, withdraw, and prevent uncontrolled destruction.
As twilight turns to night and the Sun’s rays withdraw, the Kaurava leaders—badly wounded—recognize the terrifying, all-pervading Indra-weapon as intolerable and therefore pull their forces back from the battlefield.