Shloka 14
Adhyāya 36: Ghora-yuddha-varṇanam
A Clinical Description of the Intensified Engagement
“राजन! मैं हाथमें आयुध लेकर रथपर बैठा रहूँ, उस अवस्थामें यदि वज्र धारण करनेवाले इन्द्र भी कुपित होकर आ जाय॑ँ तो उनसे भी मुझे भय न होगा। भीष्म आदि महारथियोंको रणभूमिमें सदाके लिये सोया हुआ देखकर भी अस्थिरता (घबराहट) मुझसे दूर ही रहती है ।।
rājan! ahaṁ hastam āyudhaṁ gṛhītvā rathopaviṣṭaḥ tiṣṭheyam; tasminn avasthāyāṁ yadi vajradhara indro 'pi kupitaḥ samāyāyāt, tato 'pi me bhayaṁ na syāt. bhīṣmādīn mahārathīn raṇabhūmau sadā-kṛte śayānān dṛṣṭvā 'pi asthiratā (ghabarāhaṭ) matto dūram eva tiṣṭhati. mahendra-viṣṇu-pratimāv aninditau rathāśva-nāga-pravara-pramāthinau avadhya-kalpau nihatau yadā parais tato na me 'py asti raṇe 'dya sādhvasam.
サンジャヤは言った。「王よ、私は武器を手に戦車に座しているかぎり、たとえ金剛杵を執る帝釈天その人が怒りに燃えて来ようとも、恐れはしない。ビーマをはじめとする大車戦士たちが戦場に永遠の眠りとして横たわるのを見ても、動揺は私から遠い。なぜなら、毗湿摩とドローナ――非難の余地なく万人に讃えられ、帝釈とヴィシュヌに比すべき勇力を備え、最上の戦車・駿馬・象王をも粉砕し、ほとんど不殺のごとき者たち――でさえ敵に討たれたのなら、私など何ほどのものか。だが、そう思いながらも、今日この戦場で私は少しも恐れを感じぬのだ。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a warrior’s cultivated steadiness: even the fall of seemingly invincible heroes (Bhishma and Drona) becomes a reminder of mortality and fate, yet it does not produce panic. It frames courage as mental firmness amid the recognition that no one is beyond death.
Sanjaya addresses King Dhritarashtra and reports a stance of fearlessness on the battlefield. He says that even if Indra came in anger he would not fear, and he reflects that if Bhishma and Drona—likened to Indra and Vishnu—could be slain, then his own life is certainly fragile; nevertheless, he feels no dread today in battle.