Shloka 56
Śaineya’s Breakthrough and Reunion with Arjuna (शैनेयस्य समागमः)
तस्मादवस्थितो भूत्वा ज्ञात्वा लोकस्य निर्णयम् । शृणु युद्ध यथावृत्तं घोरं देवासुरोपमम्,इसलिये स्थिर होकर और लोकके नियत स्वभावको जानकर देवासुर-संग्रामके समान भयंकर इस कौरव-पाण्डव-युद्धका यथार्थ वृत्तान्त सुनिये
tasmād avasthito bhūtvā jñātvā lokasya nirṇayam | śṛṇu yuddhaṃ yathāvṛttaṃ ghoraṃ devāsuropamam ||
Therefore, steady yourself; having understood the settled course of the world, listen to the true account of this war as it unfolded—terrible, like the battle between gods and demons. In this framing, Sanjaya urges a composed, realistic hearing of events whose moral weight and violence exceed ordinary human measure.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The listener should cultivate steadiness and clear-eyed understanding of the world’s determined course before hearing accounts of extreme violence; only then can one grasp the ethical gravity of war without being overwhelmed by grief, anger, or partiality.
Sanjaya prepares the hearer (implicitly Dhritarashtra) to receive an accurate report of the battle’s events, emphasizing that the conflict is so dreadful it resembles the mythic deva–asura wars, thereby heightening the sense of scale and consequence.