Shloka 5
भीष्मस्य मध्याह्नयुद्धवर्णनम् / Mid-day Battle Description: Bhīṣma Engaged by the Pāñcālas
“मधुसूदन! और भी बहुत-से वीरोंको संग्राममें कौरवोंने मारा और हमने कौरव सैनिकोंका संहार किया ।। अर्थहेतोर्नरश्रेष्ठ क्रियते कर्म कुत्सितम् । धिगर्थान् यत्कृते होवं क्रियते ज्ञातिसंक्षय:,“नरश्रेष्ठल धनके लिये यह कुत्सित कर्म किया जा रहा है। धिक््कार है उस धनको, जिसके लिये इस प्रकार जाति-भाइयोंका विनाश किया जाता है
sañjaya uvāca | madhusūdana! anye 'pi bahavo vīrāḥ saṅgrāme kauravaiḥ hatāḥ, vayaṃ ca kaurava-sainikānāṃ saṃhāraṃ kṛtavantaḥ | artha-hetoḥ nara-śreṣṭha kriyate karma kutsitam | dhig arthān yat-kṛte hy evaṃ kriyate jñāti-saṃkṣayaḥ ||
Disse Sañjaya: “Ó Madhusūdana! Muitos outros heróis foram mortos na guerra pelos Kauravas, e nós, por nossa vez, destruímos soldados kauravas. Ó melhor dos homens, por causa da riqueza comete-se este ato infame. Vergonha dessa riqueza, por cuja causa se provoca assim a ruína dos próprios parentes.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse condemns warfare motivated by artha (material gain). It frames such violence as ‘kutsita karma’ (reprehensible action) and declares that wealth is not worth the jñāti-saṃkṣaya (destruction of one’s own kin/community), foregrounding an ethical critique of greed-driven conflict.
Sanjaya reports to the listener that many warriors have been killed on both sides—Kauravas killing numerous heroes and the opposing side slaughtering Kaurava troops. In the midst of this grim tally, he voices a moral lament, addressing Krishna as Madhusudana and decrying the war’s material motivations and its cost in kinship bonds.