Yudhiṣṭhira–Droṇa Saṃgrāma
Engagement and Countermeasures
नमो विश्वस्य पतये महतां पतये नम: । नमः सहस्रशिरसे सहस्रभुजमृत्यवे
namo viśvasya pataye mahatāṁ pataye namaḥ | namaḥ sahasraśirase sahasrabhuja-mṛtyave ||
ಸಕಲ ವಿಶ್ವದ ಅಧಿಪತಿಗೆ ನಮಸ್ಕಾರ; ಮಹಾತ್ಮರಿಗೂ ಅಧಿಪತಿಯಾದವನಿಗೆ ನಮಸ್ಕಾರ. ಸಹಸ್ರಶಿರನಿಗೆ ನಮಸ್ಕಾರ; ಸಹಸ್ರಭುಜಗಳೇ ಮೃತ್ಯುರೂಪನಾದವನಿಗೆ ನಮಸ್ಕಾರ.
संजय उवाच
The verse teaches reverence for the supreme cosmic sovereignty: the Lord who rules the universe and even the mighty, and who appears as Death in battle. It places human power and violence under a higher moral-metaphysical reality, encouraging humility and awareness of inevitability.
Sañjaya, narrating the battlefield events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, offers a solemn invocation. As the war reaches intense and deadly moments, he acknowledges the divine as the ultimate master and as the force of death that overtakes warriors, setting a grave tone for the events being described.