Shloka 51
कृष्णोपदेशः, अर्जुनस्य क्षमा-याचनम्, कर्णवध-अनुज्ञा
Krishna’s Counsel, Arjuna’s Apology, and Authorization for Karṇa’s Slaying
इसी प्रकार उस युद्धस्थलमें आपकी सेनाको संताप देते हुए पाण्डुकुमार भीमसेनने सौसे भी अधिक रथों और दूसरे सैकड़ों पैदल सैनिकोंका संहार कर डाला ।।
sañjaya uvāca |
iti prakāraṃ tasmin yuddhasthale tava senāṃ santāpayann api pāṇḍukumāro bhīmasenaḥ śatād api adhikān rathān anyāṃś ca śatasaṅkhyān padātīn saṃharitavān ||
pratāpyamānaṃ sūryeṇa bhīmena ca mahātmanā |
tava sainyaṃ saṃcukoca carmāgnāv āhitaṃ yathā ||
tad-anantaraṃ pāṇḍava-kuru-mahārathāḥ tīkṣṇaiḥ bāṇaiḥ praharantaḥ parasparaṃ kṣata-vikṣataṃ cakruḥ ||
Disse Sañjaya: Assim, no campo de batalha, Bhīmasena—filho de Pāṇḍu—continuava a abrasar as tuas forças e abateu mais de cem carros, além de centenas de infantes. Com o sol ardendo do alto e Bhīma, de grande alma, queimando-os por baixo, o teu exército, ó Rei, encolheu como couro mantido sobre o fogo. Depois disso, os grandes guerreiros de carro dos Pāṇḍava e dos Kuru, golpeando com flechas afiadas como lâminas, começaram a ferir e a dilacerar-se mutuamente num combate cerrado e implacável.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how external conditions (the blazing sun) and human agency (Bhīma’s relentless assault) together can collapse morale and cohesion in war. Ethically, it underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension: even when warriors act within kṣatriya-duty, the cumulative suffering and dehumanizing momentum of battle are starkly exposed through vivid imagery.
Sañjaya reports to the king that Bhīma, son of Pāṇḍu, is devastating the Kaurava forces—destroying over a hundred chariots and many foot-soldiers. Under the combined pressure of the sun’s heat and Bhīma’s attack, the army ‘shrinks’ like leather held over fire. Then the elite chariot-warriors of both sides close in and wound each other with sharp arrows.