Shloka 15
पार्थश्चचार संग्रामे मृत्युर्विग्रहवानिव । इस प्रकार कुन्तीकुमार अर्जुन शत्रुओंके जीवन और यशको धूलमें मिलाते हुए मूर्तिमान् मृत्युके समान संग्रामभूमिमें विचरण करने लगे ।। १४ ई ।। सकिरीटानि वक्त्राणि साड्दान् विपुलान् भुजान्,प्रलीनमीनमकरं सागराम्भ इवाभवत् | संजय कहते हैं--राजन्! उस समय अर्जुनके द्वारा खींचे जानेवाले गाण्डीव धनुषकी अत्यन्त भयंकर टंकार यमराजकी सुस्पष्ट गर्जना तथा इन्द्रके वज्रकी गड़गड़ाहटके समान जान पड़ती थी। उसे सुनकर आपकी सेना भयसे उद्विग्न हो बड़ी घबराहटमें पड़ गयी। उस समय उसकी दशा प्रलयकालकी आँधीसे क्षोभको प्राप्त एवं उत्ताल तरंगोंसे परिपूर्ण हुए उस महासागरके जलकी-सी हो गयी, जिसमें मछली और मगर आदि जलजन्तु छिप जाते हैं
sañjaya uvāca |
parthaś cacāra saṅgrāme mṛtyur vigrahavān iva |
sakirīṭāni vaktrāṇi sāḍḍān vipulān bhujān |
pralīna-mīna-makaraṃ sāgarāmbha ivābhavat ||
Sañjaya said: O King, Pārtha (Arjuna) moved about the battlefield like Death embodied. As he struck down the foe, helmets and heads, and great arms with their ornaments, disappeared—just as fish and crocodiles vanish into the waters of the ocean when it is churned into turmoil. The scene conveys not mere slaughter but the irresistible momentum of fate in war: when adharma ripens into conflict, even the mighty are swept away, and the field becomes a mirror of mortality.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the inevitability of death and the overwhelming force unleashed when war reaches its climax: even the powerful are swept away, and human glory (helmets, heads, arms) vanishes like sea-creatures hiding in a storm-tossed ocean. It invites reflection on the ethical weight of conflict and the fragility of worldly honor.
Sañjaya describes Arjuna’s terrifying effectiveness on the battlefield. Arjuna moves through the fight like embodied Death, and the enemy’s helmeted heads and mighty arms disappear under his assault, compared to fish and makaras vanishing into the ocean’s waters during violent upheaval.