Shloka 40
तत: शरसहस््राणि प्रादुरासन् समन्ततः । तैः शरैस्तव सैन्यस्य विद्रव: सुमहान भूत्,उससे चारों ओर सहस्रों बाण प्रकट होने लगे। उन बाणोंद्वारा आपकी सेनाका महान् संहार होने लगा
tataḥ śarasahasrāṇi prādurāsan samantataḥ | taiḥ śaraiḥ tava sainyasya vidravaḥ sumahān bhūt |
Sañjaya said: “Then, from every side, thousands of arrows suddenly appeared. Struck by those shafts, your army fell into a great rout and devastation.” The verse underscores how, in war, a single overwhelming volley can shatter order and morale, turning disciplined force into panic and flight—an ethical reminder of the tragic, cascading consequences of violence once unleashed.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the fragility of collective order in warfare: when violence escalates suddenly, fear and confusion can overwhelm discipline, producing mass rout. Ethically, it points to the disproportionate suffering that follows once battle intensifies beyond control.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a sudden, all-direction volley of thousands of arrows erupted, and as a result the Kaurava forces (addressed as ‘your army’) suffered a great rout and devastation.