Shloka 51
कृष्णोपदेशः, अर्जुनस्य क्षमा-याचनम्, कर्णवध-अनुज्ञा
Krishna’s Counsel, Arjuna’s Apology, and Authorization for Karṇa’s Slaying
इसी प्रकार उस युद्धस्थलमें आपकी सेनाको संताप देते हुए पाण्डुकुमार भीमसेनने सौसे भी अधिक रथों और दूसरे सैकड़ों पैदल सैनिकोंका संहार कर डाला ।।
sañjaya uvāca |
iti prakāraṃ tasmin yuddhasthale tava senāṃ santāpayann api pāṇḍukumāro bhīmasenaḥ śatād api adhikān rathān anyāṃś ca śatasaṅkhyān padātīn saṃharitavān ||
pratāpyamānaṃ sūryeṇa bhīmena ca mahātmanā |
tava sainyaṃ saṃcukoca carmāgnāv āhitaṃ yathā ||
tad-anantaraṃ pāṇḍava-kuru-mahārathāḥ tīkṣṇaiḥ bāṇaiḥ praharantaḥ parasparaṃ kṣata-vikṣataṃ cakruḥ ||
サञ्जयは言った。このように戦場で、パーンドゥの子ビーマセーナは汝の軍を苦しめ焼き立てつつ、百両を超える戦車を討ち、さらに幾百の歩兵をも屠った。上では太陽が灼けつき、下では大いなる魂のビーマが焼き尽くすがゆえに、王よ、汝の軍は火にかざした革のように縮みすぼんだ。その後、パーンダヴァとクルの大車戦士たちは、剃刀のごとく鋭い矢で互いを撃ち、近接して容赦なく傷つけ裂き合い始めた。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how external conditions (the blazing sun) and human agency (Bhīma’s relentless assault) together can collapse morale and cohesion in war. Ethically, it underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension: even when warriors act within kṣatriya-duty, the cumulative suffering and dehumanizing momentum of battle are starkly exposed through vivid imagery.
Sañjaya reports to the king that Bhīma, son of Pāṇḍu, is devastating the Kaurava forces—destroying over a hundred chariots and many foot-soldiers. Under the combined pressure of the sun’s heat and Bhīma’s attack, the army ‘shrinks’ like leather held over fire. Then the elite chariot-warriors of both sides close in and wound each other with sharp arrows.