Shloka 7
तथा तमरिसैन्यानि घ्नन्तं मृत्युमिवान्तकम् । परिवद्र॒र्भुशं क्रुद्धा: पाण्डुपाउ्चालसोमका:
tathā tam ari-sainyāni ghnantaṃ mṛtyum ivāntakam | parivavṛr bhuśaṃ kruddhāḥ pāṇḍu-pāñcāla-somakāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Even so, as he struck down the enemy battalions like Death itself—like Yama, the Ender—the Pāṇḍavas, the Pāñcālas, and the Somakas, fiercely enraged, closed in around him from all sides. The verse underscores the moral intensity of battle: wrath and duty drive the warriors to confront a foe who appears as inevitable and impartial as death, even while the carnage blurs the line between righteous resolve and consuming anger.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, even righteous allies can be driven by intense anger; yet they still act within the frame of kṣatriya duty—meeting a terrifying, death-like opponent rather than yielding. It cautions that the ethical burden of battle includes mastering wrath while fulfilling obligation.
A warrior is cutting down enemy formations with the inevitability of Death. In response, the allied forces—Pāṇḍavas, Pāñcālas, and Somakas—become furious and converge to surround and confront him.