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 ||
Sañjaya nói: “Hỡi chúa tể muôn dân, tại đó nhiều chiến binh làm dậy lên tiếng ồn vang như sấm, khi họ áp sát, xô ép nhau trong cận chiến, đánh chém bằng giáo, lao và rìu chiến.”
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.