Shloka 45
यथा वैतरणीमुग्रां दुस्तरामकृतात्मभि: । तथा दुस्तरणीं घोरां भीरूणां भयवर्धिनीम्
sañjaya uvāca | yathā vaitaraṇīm ugrāṃ dustarām akṛtātmabhiḥ | tathā dustaraṇīṃ ghorāṃ bhīrūṇāṃ bhayavardhinīm ||
サञ्जयは語った。「自制を欠く者には猛きヴァイタラニーが渡り難いように、この恐るべき河もまた、ほとんど渡り得ぬほどで、臆する者の恐怖を増しつつ、彼らの前に横たわっていた。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts inner discipline with moral and psychological weakness: what is ‘crossable’ for the self-controlled becomes terrifying and impassable for the uncontrolled and cowardly. It frames fear as a consequence of lacking self-mastery (akṛtātman), especially amid the horrors of war.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene through a powerful simile: the carnage is likened to the fearsome Vaitaraṇī river. The imagery underscores how the same battlefield is endured by the brave but overwhelms the timid, setting the ethical tone for the unfolding combat.