Shloka 33
कृष्णेन अर्जुनस्य प्रोत्साहनम् — Kṛṣṇa’s Exhortation to Arjuna
Prelude to Karṇa’s Slaying
भीरुवित्रासकारिण्य: शूराणां हर्षवर्धना: । ता नद्यो घोररूपास्तु नयन्त्यो यमसादनम्,वे भयानक रूपवाली नदियाँ कायरोंको डराने और शूरवीरोंका हर्ष बढ़ानेवाली थीं तथा प्राणियोंको यमलोक पहुँचाती थीं
bhīruvitrāsakāriṇyaḥ śūrāṇāṃ harṣavardhanāḥ | tā nadyo ghorarūpāstu nayantyo yamasādanam ||
Sañjaya said: Those rivers, dreadful in appearance, struck terror into the cowardly yet heightened the exhilaration of the brave; and, sweeping living beings along, they bore them onward to the abode of Yama—death itself—amid the horrors of battle.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The same terrifying reality of war and death affects people according to their inner disposition: fear overwhelms the timid, while the courageous—trained in kṣātra-dharma—find their resolve and martial spirit intensified. The verse underscores how character shapes one’s response to danger and mortality.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene in Karṇa Parva: fearsome rivers (implicitly swollen with the violence of war) appear dreadful and carry beings toward death, evoking Yama’s realm. The imagery heightens the sense of carnage and the psychological contrast between cowards and heroes.