Shloka 23
Adhyāya 36: Ghora-yuddha-varṇanam
A Clinical Description of the Intensified Engagement
तस्मात् क्षिप्र॑ मद्रपते प्रयाहि रणे पञ्चालान् पाण्डवान् सृज्जयांश्व । तान् वा हनिष्यामि समेत्य संख्ये यास्यामि वा द्रोणपथा यमाय
tasmāt kṣipraṃ madrapate prayāhi raṇe pañcālān pāṇḍavān sṛñjayāṃś ca | tān vā haniṣyāmi sametya saṅkhye yāsyāmi vā droṇapathā yamāya ||
ゆえに、マドラの王よ、戦場にて速やかに車を駆り、パーンチャーラ、パーンダヴァ、そしてスリンジャヤの勇士たちへ向かえ。今日、近接の戦いで彼らと相まみえ、私は彼らを討ち滅ぼすか—さもなくば、ドローナが辿った道に従い、我が身みずからヤマの国へ赴こう。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya ideal of steadfast resolve in righteous combat as understood within epic warfare: one must act decisively, accept the consequences, and face death without retreat. Ethically, it frames battle as a duty-bound arena where honor is maintained either through victory or through an unflinching acceptance of death.
Sañjaya reports a warrior’s command to the king of Madra (the charioteer/ally figure) to drive swiftly toward the Pāṇḍava side—Pāñcālas, Pāṇḍavas, and Sṛñjayas—for a decisive engagement. The speaker declares an either-or outcome: he will kill them in battle, or he will die and go to Yama’s realm, ‘by Droṇa’s path,’ invoking Droṇa’s recent death as a model of battlefield end.