Adhyāya 41 — Kṛṣṇa’s Battlefield Briefing and the Renewal of the Great Engagement
अन्यस्मादपि कस्माच्चिदमित्रादाततायिन: । इति शल्य विजानीहि यथा नाहं बिभेम्यत: ।।
sañjaya uvāca |
anyasmād api kasmāc cid amitrād ātatāyinaḥ |
iti śalya vijānīhi yathā nāhaṁ bibhemy ataḥ ||
tasmān na me bhayaṁ pārthān nāpi caiva janārdanāt |
saha yuddha hi me tābhyāṁ sāmparāye bhaviṣyati ||
桑阇耶说:“噢,舍利耶,你当明白:我不惧任何敌人,纵使是暗中偷袭的凶徒亦然。因此我不惧帕尔塔(阿周那),也不惧阇那尔达那(克里希纳)。在战事最终的裁决之时,我与那二人的一战必将到来。”
संजय उवाच
The verse foregrounds a warrior’s cultivated fearlessness and resolve, framed against the ethical category of the ātatāyin (unlawful aggressor). It highlights how confidence and destiny-driven commitment to combat can override fear—even toward the most formidable opponents—while implicitly invoking dharmic discourse about legitimate and illegitimate violence.
Sañjaya reports a declaration made to Śalya: the speaker asserts he fears no enemy, not even a treacherous aggressor, and therefore does not fear Arjuna or Kṛṣṇa. He insists that a decisive confrontation with those two is inevitable in the coming battle.