Shloka 43
ते वचस्तस्य तच्छुत्वा वासुदेवस्य भारत । ईषु: सर्वे समुत्स्रष्ठं मनोभि: करणेन च,भारत! भगवान् वासुदेवका यह वचन सुनकर सब योद्धाओंने अन्यान्य इन्द्रियों तथा मनसे भी अस्त्रको त्याग देनेका विचार कर लिया
te vacas tasya tac chrutvā vāsudevasya bhārata | īṣuḥ sarve samutsraṣṭuṁ manobhiḥ karaṇena ca ||
Sañjaya said: O Bhārata, having heard those words of Vāsudeva, all the warriors resolved to cast away their missiles—renouncing violence not only by physical action but also in mind and through the senses. The moment underscores an ethical pivot: restraint is presented as a deliberate inner discipline, not merely the cessation of outward fighting.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
True restraint is not only physical (putting down weapons) but also internal—renouncing the impulse to harm in the mind and governing the senses. Ethical action in the Mahābhārata is repeatedly framed as mastery over intention as much as over deed.
Sañjaya reports that after hearing Vāsudeva’s statement, the assembled fighters collectively decide to abandon their missiles. The verse depicts a sudden shift in the battlefield mood toward cessation of aggression, at least momentarily, prompted by Kṛṣṇa’s words.