Shloka 283
Adhyāya 41 — Kṛṣṇa’s Battlefield Briefing and the Renewal of the Great Engagement
हन्यामहं तादृशानां शतानि क्षमाम्यहं क्षमया कालयोगात् | “जो अप्रिय
hanyām ahaṃ tādṛśānāṃ śatāni kṣamāmy ahaṃ kṣamayā kālayogāt |
सञ्जय उवाच—हन्यामहं तादृशानां शतानि; क्षमाम्यहं क्षमया कालयोगात्। येऽप्रियाः निष्ठुराः क्षुद्रहृदयाः क्षमाशून्याश्च जनाः क्षमावतां निन्दां कुर्वन्ति, तेषां शतशो वधं कर्तुं शक्तोऽपि अहं कालयोगवशात् क्षमाभावेन सर्वं सहामि।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts capability with restraint: even if one has the strength to punish cruelty and ingratitude, true ethical strength is to endure and forgive when guided by kṣamā (forbearance) and an awareness of kāla-yoga—the larger timing and order of events.
Sañjaya, narrating events and sentiments from the battlefield context, voices a reflection on how patient people are often criticized by harsh and unforgiving persons; he notes that he could retaliate violently, yet he chooses to bear it, attributing this restraint to forbearance and the compulsion of time and circumstance.