Shloka 41
कृष्णेन अर्जुनस्य प्रोत्साहनम् — Kṛṣṇa’s Exhortation to Arjuna
Prelude to Karṇa’s Slaying
श्रावयाणाक्ष बहवस्तत्र योद्धा विशाम्पते । अन्योन्यमवमृद्नन्त: शक्तितोमरपट्टिशै:
śrāvayāṇākṣa bahavas tatra yoddhā viśāmpate | anyonyam avamṛdnantaḥ śakti-tomara-paṭṭiśaiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “O lord of the people, many warriors there raised a deafening din, as they pressed upon one another in close combat, striking with spears, javelins, and battle-axes.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the brutal immediacy of war: when conflict escalates into close combat, it becomes a mutual crushing driven by weapons and force. Implicitly, it invites reflection on the ethical weight of choosing war and the human cost that follows from adharma-driven rivalry.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that many fighters on the battlefield are locked in melee, creating a tremendous clamor while striking each other with spears, javelins, and axes.