Shloka 35
Adhyāya 41 — Kṛṣṇa’s Battlefield Briefing and the Renewal of the Great Engagement
अस्त्रं ब्राह्म॑ं मनसा युध्यजेयं क्षेप्स्ये पार्थायाप्रमेयं जयाय । तेनापि मे नैव मुच्येत युद्धे न चेत् पतेद् विषमे मे5द्य चक्रम्
astraṃ brāhmaṃ manasā yudhyajeyaṃ kṣepsye pārthāyāprameyaṃ jayāya | tenāpi me naiva mucyeta yuddhe na cet pated viṣame me 'dya cakram ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Dengan seruan batin, aku akan mengerahkan senjata Brahmā yang tak terukur lalu melontarkannya kepada Pārtha demi kemenangan. Dengan senjata itu, dia tidak akan terlepas hidup dari medan perang—jika sahaja roda keretaku hari ini tidak tenggelam pada tanah yang tidak rata.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between human resolve and the limits imposed by fate and circumstance: even the mightiest power (a supreme divine weapon) can be thwarted by a small contingency (a wheel stuck in uneven ground). It also raises ethical pressure-points of war—victory sought through overwhelming force, yet conditioned by dharma and destiny.
Sañjaya reports a warrior’s intention to mentally invoke the Brahmā-weapon and strike Arjuna to secure victory, asserting that Arjuna would not survive—provided the speaker’s chariot-wheel does not get trapped in rough ground, a foreshadowing of a decisive battlefield impediment.