Shloka 41
कृष्णेन अर्जुनस्य प्रोत्साहनम् — Kṛṣṇa’s Exhortation to Arjuna
Prelude to Karṇa’s Slaying
श्रावयाणाक्ष बहवस्तत्र योद्धा विशाम्पते । अन्योन्यमवमृद्नन्त: शक्तितोमरपट्टिशै:
śrāvayāṇākṣa bahavas tatra yoddhā viśāmpate | anyonyam avamṛdnantaḥ śakti-tomara-paṭṭiśaiḥ ||
Sinabi ni Sañjaya: “O panginoon ng bayan, doon ay maraming mandirigma ang nagpaalingawngaw ng nakabibinging ingay, habang sila’y nagsisiksikan sa isa’t isa sa dikitang sagupaan, humahampas gamit ang mga sibat, tomara (panaog na sibat), at mga palakol-pandigma.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the brutal immediacy of war: when conflict escalates into close combat, it becomes a mutual crushing driven by weapons and force. Implicitly, it invites reflection on the ethical weight of choosing war and the human cost that follows from adharma-driven rivalry.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that many fighters on the battlefield are locked in melee, creating a tremendous clamor while striking each other with spears, javelins, and axes.