Shloka 23
संसर्पन्तो रणे केचिचन्निद्रान्धास्ते तथा परान् । जघ्नु: शूरा रणे शूरांस्तस्मिंस्तमसि दारुणे,कुछ शूरवीर निद्रान्ध होकर भी रणभूमिमें विचरते थे और उस दारुण अन्धकारमें शत्रुपक्षके शूरवीरोंका वध कर डालते थे
saṃsarpanto raṇe kecic channidrāndhās te tathā parān | jaghnuḥ śūrā raṇe śūrāṃs tasmiṃs tamasi dāruṇe ||
Sañjaya berkata: Dalam kegelapan yang mengerikan itu, sebahagian pahlawan—seakan-akan dibutakan oleh lena—masih bergerak di medan perang, lalu di sana mereka menewaskan para wira pihak musuh; dalam himpitan pertempuran, wira membunuh wira. Gambaran ini menegaskan bahawa apabila pertimbangan tertutup, keganasan boleh terus berjalan hampir secara mekanis, digerakkan oleh momentum perang, bukan oleh penglihatan moral yang jernih.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war can continue even when awareness and discernment are impaired—here symbolized by sleep-blindness and darkness—raising an ethical warning: when clarity is lost, violence becomes indiscriminate and the line between valor and blind destruction thins.
Sañjaya describes a chaotic night-battle scene: despite being dazed as if asleep and surrounded by dreadful darkness, some fighters keep moving through the field and kill opposing warriors; it is a depiction of confused, relentless combat where heroes on both sides fall.