Shloka 2
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Anxiety and Bhīṣma’s Theological Explanation of Pāṇḍava Invincibility
Book 6, Chapter 61
शरैरतिरथो युद्धे दारयन् रथयूथपान् | ते वध्यमाना: पार्थेन कालेनेव युगक्षये
śarair atiratho yuddhe dārayan rathayūthapān | te vadhyamānāḥ pārthena kāleneva yugakṣaye ||
桑阇耶说道：“在战斗中，那位大车战士以箭矢撕裂战车诸队的统领。那些被帕尔塔（阿周那）所斩的勇士，倒下时仿佛‘迦罗’——时间本身——在劫末降临，将他们毁灭。”此偈将阿周那的神勇呈现为不仅是个人之力，更是战争道德灾难中命运不可逆转的运行。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, individual agency (Arjuna’s skill) appears inseparable from the larger force of Kāla (Time/destiny). It suggests that mass destruction on the battlefield can resemble cosmic dissolution, reminding the listener that violence, once unleashed, becomes an impersonal, unstoppable process.
Sañjaya describes Arjuna (Pārtha) in the thick of battle, using volleys of arrows to break the ranks and kill the commanders of chariot-units. The slaughter is compared to Time’s devastation at the end of a world-age, emphasizing the scale and inevitability of the rout.