Shloka 386
Vāsudeva-Māhātmya: Duryodhana’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Theological Account of Keśava
प्रियं सखाय॑ चाक्रन्दे सखा दैवबलात्कृत: । इस युद्धमें दैवके वशीभूत होकर पिताने पुत्रको, पुत्रने पिताको और मित्रने प्रिय मित्रको मार डाला
priyaṃ sakhāyaṃ cākrande sakhā daivabalāt kṛtaḥ |
Sañjaya said: ‘A friend lamented for his beloved friend—yet, driven by the overpowering force of fate, friend was made to act against friend. In this war, overmastered by destiny, fathers slew sons, sons slew fathers, and companions struck down the companions most dear to them.’
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
War can invert natural bonds and duties: when people become overpowered by ‘daiva’ (fate/impersonal compulsion), even sacred relationships—parent-child and friendship—are violated, revealing the tragic ethical cost of conflict.
Sañjaya describes the Kurukṣetra battlefield’s horror: amid the fighting, grief erupts as loved ones confront and kill one another—fathers and sons, and even close friends—seemingly compelled by the force of destiny.