संजय उवाच
दृष्ट्वा तु संनिवृत्तांस् तान् संशप्तकगणान् पुनः ॥
वासुदेवं महात्मानम् अर्जुनः समभाषत ॥
चोदयाश्वान् हृषीकेश संशप्तकगणान् प्रति ॥
नैते हास्यन्ति संग्रामं जीवन्त इति मे मतिः ॥
पश्य मे ऽस्त्रबलं घोरं बाह्वोर् इष्वसनस्य च ॥
अद्यैतान् पातयिष्यामि क्रुद्धो रुद्रः पशून् इव ॥
saṃjaya uvāca
dṛṣṭvā tu saṃnivṛttāṃs tān saṃśaptakagaṇān punaḥ ||
vāsudevaṃ mahātmānam arjunaḥ samabhāṣata ||
codayāśvān hṛṣīkeśa saṃśaptakagaṇān prati ||
naite hāsyanti saṃgrāmaṃ jīvanta iti me matiḥ ||
paśya me 'strabalaṃ ghoraṃ bāhvor iṣvasanasya ca ||
adyaitān pātayiṣyāmi kruddho rudraḥ paśūn iva ||
Seeing the hosts of samshaptakas turned back once more to battle, Arjuna spoke to Vasudeva, great of soul: "Drive the horses, O Hrishikesha, toward the bands of samshaptakas. They will not leave this fight alive — such is my conviction. Behold the terrible might of my arms and my bow's astras: today, in wrath, I shall fell them, as raging Rudra fells the sacrificial beasts."
981d6ab20d5a · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:00:04 PM UTC
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Arjuna likens himself to Rudra in wrath, slaying sacrificial animals — and the image lays bare the hidden meaning of this battle. The samshaptakas have bound themselves by their own oath; their death is not murder but the offering to which they themselves came. Rudra here is not blind fury but the fearsome face of the Divine, which claims what is destined at its appointed hour. It is telling that Arjuna asks Krishna himself to drive toward them: his strength does not act by itself, but only with the Lord at the reins. The verse teaches that even a warrior's terrible deed, done in fulfillment of duty, is a kind of sacrifice when performed without self-interest and under higher guidance; and that power, however dreadful it appears, remains righteous so long as it serves dharma rather than self-love.