Shloka 49
नारायणास्त्र-शमनं द्रौणि-प्रहारश्च
Pacification of the Nārāyaṇāstra and Drauni’s Renewed Assault
पुत्रश्न पितरं मोहातू सखायं च सखा तथा । स्वस्त्रीयं मातुलश्चापि स्वस्रीयश्चापि मातुलम्
putraśna pitaraṃ mohāt sakhāyaṃ ca sakhā tathā | svastrīyaṃ mātulaś cāpi svasrīyaś cāpi mātulam ||
Sañjaya said: In delusion, a son may strike down his own father; a friend may strike a friend. Likewise, a man may strike his sister’s son, and even a maternal uncle may strike his sister’s son—so thoroughly does confusion overturn natural bonds in war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how moha (delusion) in war can overturn dharma and natural affection, leading even close kin and friends to harm one another; it serves as an ethical warning about the moral disintegration caused by uncontrolled conflict.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield’s confusion and brutality, emphasizing that in the Kurukṣetra war even the closest relationships—father and son, friend and friend, maternal uncle and nephew—can be driven into mutual violence.