Shloka 53
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 47 — Arjuna’s Deterrent Declaration
Sañjaya’s Report
तदा मूढो धृतराष्ट्रस्य पुत्र- स्तप्ता युद्धे दुर्मतिर्दु:सहाय: । दृष्टवा सैन्यं बाणवर्षान्धकारे प्रभज्यन्तं गोकुलवद् रणाग्रे
tadā mūḍho dhṛtarāṣṭrasya putras taptā yuddhe durmatir duḥsahāyaḥ | dṛṣṭvā sainyaṃ bāṇavarṣāndhakāre prabhajyantaṃ gokulavad raṇāgre ||
サञ्जयは言った。「そのとき、盲妄に囚われたドリタラーシュトラの子—邪なる心を抱き、残忍な同盟者に支えられた者—は戦場で苦しめられる。ガーンディーヴァの凄烈な弦音を聞き、戦場の最前において矢の嵐が生む闇の中、己の軍が牛の群れのように四方へ崩れ散って逃げ惑うのを見れば、苦悶がその胸を締めつけるであろう。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Unrighteous intent (durmati) sustained by harmful counsel (duḥsahāya) leads to inner torment when reality tests it; moral failure erodes courage and cohesion, while disciplined valor exposes the fragility of adharma.
Sañjaya describes how Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son will be distressed upon witnessing his forces scatter at the battlefront amid the ‘darkness’ of an intense arrow-shower, likened to cattle fleeing in panic—an image of collapsing morale before Arjuna’s martial prowess symbolized by the Gāṇḍīva.