Shloka 35
Adhyāya 41 — Kṛṣṇa’s Battlefield Briefing and the Renewal of the Great Engagement
अस्त्रं ब्राह्म॑ं मनसा युध्यजेयं क्षेप्स्ये पार्थायाप्रमेयं जयाय । तेनापि मे नैव मुच्येत युद्धे न चेत् पतेद् विषमे मे5द्य चक्रम्
astraṃ brāhmaṃ manasā yudhyajeyaṃ kṣepsye pārthāyāprameyaṃ jayāya | tenāpi me naiva mucyeta yuddhe na cet pated viṣame me 'dya cakram ||
桑阇耶说：“我将以心念启用那无量的梵天神兵，为求胜利而掷向帕尔塔。凭此兵器，他在战场上也难逃一死——只要我今日战车之轮不陷入崎岖之地。”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between human resolve and the limits imposed by fate and circumstance: even the mightiest power (a supreme divine weapon) can be thwarted by a small contingency (a wheel stuck in uneven ground). It also raises ethical pressure-points of war—victory sought through overwhelming force, yet conditioned by dharma and destiny.
Sañjaya reports a warrior’s intention to mentally invoke the Brahmā-weapon and strike Arjuna to secure victory, asserting that Arjuna would not survive—provided the speaker’s chariot-wheel does not get trapped in rough ground, a foreshadowing of a decisive battlefield impediment.