Shloka 41
अध्याय १ — न्यग्रोधवनोपवेशनम् तथा द्रौणिनिश्चयः
Night at the Banyan and Drauṇi’s Resolve
केषांचिदच्छिनत् पक्षान् शिरांसि च चकर्त ह । चरणांश्वैव केषांचिद्ू बभज्ज चरणायुध:
keṣāñcid acchinat pakṣān śirāṃsi ca cakarta ha | caraṇāṃś caiva keṣāñcid babhajja caraṇāyudhaḥ ||
केषांचिदच्छिनत् पक्षान् शिरांसि च चकर्त ह । चरणांश्चैव केषांचिद् बभञ्ज चरणायुधः ॥
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral degradation that follows unchecked violence: when aggression becomes habitual, even ordinary means (like one’s feet) are turned into weapons, leading to indiscriminate harm—an implicit warning against adharma and cruelty.
Sañjaya describes a violent act in which the attacker mutilates victims—tearing wings, cutting off heads, and breaking legs—using his feet as weapons, conveying the brutality and chaos characteristic of the Sauptika episode.