Shloka 52
भीमसेनस्य कौरवसुतवधः तथा श्रुतर्वावधः
Slaying of Kaurava princes and the fall of Śrutarvā
राजन् बलेन द्वयड्रेन त्यक्त्वा जीवितमात्मन: । आत्मना पज्चमो<्युद्धयं पाउ्चालस्य बलेन ह
sañjaya uvāca | rājan balena dvyaṅgena tyaktvā jīvitam ātmanaḥ | ātmanā pañcamo 'bhyuddhyaṃ pāñcālasya balena ha |
Sañjaya berkata: Wahai Raja, setelah aku menyingkirkan segala kebimbangan terhadap nyawaku sendiri, aku—sebagai yang kelima bersama empat maharathi yang lain—turun bertempur melawan bala Pāñcāla, walaupun kekuatan kami hanya “dua anggota” (divisyen gajah dan kuda). Melihat kebanyakan pahlawan tuanku muram, senjata mereka musnah dan mereka dikepung dari segenap arah, aku memasuki pertempuran dengan tekad yang meletakkan dharma kewajipan dan kesetiaan mengatasi keselamatan diri.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a warrior’s ethic of duty and steadfastness: when one’s side is demoralized, disarmed, and surrounded, the response praised here is resolve—renouncing attachment to personal safety and acting in loyalty to one’s charge, even against superior forces.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that, seeing the Kaurava fighters overwhelmed and dispirited, he personally entered the fray as the fifth among four other great chariot-warriors, fighting the Pāñcāla forces with a reduced ‘two-limbed’ contingent (elephants and horses).