Shloka 40
युधिष्ठिरस्य कृष्णार्जुनादि-समाश्वासनम्
Yudhiṣṭhira’s reassurance and praise of Kṛṣṇa, Arjuna, Bhīma, and Sātyaki
स भित्त्वा तु शरो राजन् पाज्चालकुलनन्दनम् | अभ्यागाद् धरणी तूर्ण लोहिताद्रों ज्वलन्निव,राजन! वह प्रज्वलित होता हुआ-सा बाण पांचाल-कुलनन्दन वीरकेतुको विदीर्ण करके खूनसे लथपथ हो तुरंत ही धरतीमें समा गया
sa bhittvā tu śaro rājan pāñcālakulanandanam | abhyagād dharaṇīṃ tūrṇaṃ lohitārdro jvalann iva ||
Sañjaya said: O King, that arrow, having pierced the delight of the Pāñcāla line, swiftly sank into the earth, drenched in blood, as if blazing. The scene underscores the grim momentum of battle, where prowess and fate converge, and the cost of violence is made visible in the blood-marked weapon that vanishes back into the ground.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the stark reality of war: heroic identity and lineage offer no immunity from injury and death. It implicitly invites reflection on the ethical weight of violence and the relentless, impersonal force of battlefield dharma where actions have immediate, bodily consequences.
Sañjaya describes an arrow that pierces a prominent warrior of the Pāñcālas; after striking through, the arrow—now wet with blood—swiftly plunges into the earth, appearing as though it is still aflame from its violent passage.