Shloka 45
अध्याय ८० — मध्यंदिन-रणवृत्तान्तः
Yudhiṣṭhira–Śrutāyu encounter; Cekitāna–Gautama clash; Abhimanyu pressure; Arjuna’s redeployment
क्रुद्धों भृशं तव पुत्रेषु राजन् दैत्येषु यद्वत् समरे महेन्द्र: । ततो व्यमुहा॒न्त रणे नृवीरा: प्रमोहनास्त्राहतबुद्धिसत्त्वा:
kruddho bhṛśaṁ tava putreṣu rājan daityeṣu yadvat samare mahendraḥ | tato vyamuhyanta raṇe nṛvīrāḥ pramohanāstrāhatabuddhisattvāḥ ||
Sañjaya berkata: Wahai Raja, dia murka dengan amat dahsyat terhadap putera-putera tuanku, sebagaimana Mahendra (Indra) murka terhadap kaum Daitya di medan perang. Lalu di gelanggang tempur, para wira menjadi bingung; akal budi dan keteguhan mereka ditumpaskan oleh senjata yang mengelirukan itu.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how uncontrolled wrath in war escalates violence, and how the use of deluding force (pramohana-astra) can disable discernment and courage—raising an ethical tension between victory by power and victory aligned with dharma.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a warrior, furious at the Kauravas, acts like Indra battling the Daityas; as a result, fighters on the field become confused because their minds and resolve are struck by a stupefying weapon.