Mahabharata 7.116.19 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 116, Shloka 19
Śaineya’s Breakthrough and Reunion with Arjuna (शैनेयस्य समागमः)
कि नु वा कुरव: कृत्यं विदधु: कालचोदिता: । दारुणैकायने काले कथं वा प्रतिपेदिरे
kiṁ nu vā kuravaḥ kṛtyaṁ vidadhuḥ kālacoditāḥ | dāruṇaikāyane kāle kathaṁ vā pratipedire ||
కాలప్రేరితులైన కౌరవులు అప్పుడు అక్కడ ఏ కార్యాన్ని చేపట్టారు? ఆ భయంకరమైన ఏకమార్గ సంహారకాలంలో—మరణం తప్ప మరొక గతి లేని వేళ—వారు కర్తవ్యనిశ్చయాన్ని ఎలా పొందారు?
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a moral and strategic crisis: even when events seem driven by Kāla (Time/Fate) and the situation appears to allow only destruction, one is still compelled to deliberate on kṛtya—what ought to be done. It highlights the tension between inevitability and responsibility.
Sanjaya, narrating to Dhritarashtra, heightens suspense by asking what the Kaurava host did at a terrifying turning point in battle. The emphasis is on their reaction and resolve when the battlefield situation had become grim and seemingly irreversible.
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