Shloka 55
कर्णार्जुनसमागमः — The Karṇa–Arjuna Confrontation
Cosmic Spectatorship and Vows
चुक्ुशुश्व नरव्याप्र यथा व्याप्रा नरोत्तमा: । तेषां तु क्रोशतामासीद् भीतानां रणमूर्थनि
cukruśuśrava naravyāghra yathā vyāghrā narottamāḥ | teṣāṃ tu krośatām āsīd bhītānāṃ raṇamūrdhani puruṣasiṃha |
नरव्याघ्र! ते श्रेष्ठ योद्धे वाघांसारखे गर्जत होते; पण रणाच्या अग्रभागी भयभीत होऊन किंचाळणाऱ्या सैनिकांचा कोलाहल असा वाटत होता, जणू प्रलयकाळी सर्व प्राण्यांचा एकत्रित आर्तनाद उठला आहे.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts disciplined martial ferocity (the elite warriors’ tiger-like cries) with panic and collapse of morale (the frightened troops’ wailing), highlighting how fear can dissolve order in war and how battle exposes impermanence through pralaya-like imagery.
Sañjaya describes the soundscape at the battlefront: leading fighters shout like tigers, while many soldiers, seized by terror, cry out loudly and scatter; their collective lament is compared to the catastrophic cries heard at the end of the world.