Shloka 37
रजसा तमसा चैव संवृते भृशदारुणे । केवल नामगोत्रेण प्रायुध्यन्त जयैषिण:,धूल और अंधकारसे छाये हुए उस अत्यन्त भयंकर संग्राममें विजयाभिलाषी योद्धा केवल नाम और गोत्रका परिचय पाकर युद्ध करते थे
rajasā tamasā caiva saṁvṛte bhṛśadāruṇe | kevalaṁ nāmagotreṇa prāyudhyanta jayaiṣiṇaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: In that exceedingly dreadful battle, shrouded by dust and darkness, warriors hungry for victory fought on, recognizing one another only by the bare announcement of name and lineage. The scene underscores how war’s chaos strips away ordinary markers of identity and restraint, reducing encounter to mere identification and the drive to win.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how the fog of war—dust and darkness—erodes clarity and humane discernment. When perception collapses, fighters rely on minimal identity markers (name and gotra) and act primarily from the urge to win, suggesting an ethical warning about how violence reduces persons to labels and targets.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield conditions as so dust-filled and dark that combatants cannot clearly see. In that confusion, they identify opponents only by shouted introductions of name and lineage, and then continue fighting with victory as their overriding aim.