yo bhīṣma-karṇa-guru-śalya-camūṣv adabhra-
rÄjanya-varya-ratha-maṇá¸ala-maṇá¸itÄsu
agrecaro mama vibho ratha-yÅ«thapÄnÄm
Äyur manÄá¹si ca dá¹›Å›Ä saha oja Ärcchat
yaḥ - it is He only; bhÄ«á¹£ma - BhÄ«á¹£ma; karṇa - Karṇa; guru - DroṇÄcÄrya; Å›alya - Åšalya; camÅ«á¹£u - in the midst of the military phalanx; adabhra - immense; rÄjanya-varya - great royal princes; ratha-maṇá¸ala - chain of chariots; maṇá¸itÄsu - being decorated with; agrecaraḥ - going forward; mama - of mine; vibho - O great King; ratha-yÅ«tha-pÄnÄm - all the charioteers; Äyuḥ - duration of life or fruitive activities; manÄá¹si - mental upsurges; ca - also; dá¹›Å›Ä - by glance; sahaḥ - power; ojaḥ - strength; Ärcchat - withdrew.
The Absolute Personality of Godhead, Lord ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa, expands Himself by His plenary ParamÄtmÄ portion in everyone’s heart, and thus He directs everyone in the matter of recollection, forgetfulness, knowledge, the absence of intelligence and all psychological activities (Bg. 15.15). As the Supreme Lord, He can increase or decrease the duration of life of a living being. Thus the Lord conducted the Battle of Kuruká¹£etra according to His own plan. He wanted that battle to establish Yudhiá¹£á¹hira as the Emperor of this planet, and to facilitate this transcendental business He killed all who were on the opposite party by His omnipotent will. The other party was equipped with all military strength supported by big generals like BhÄ«á¹£ma, Droṇa and Åšalya, and it would have been physically impossible for Arjuna to win the battle had the Lord not helped him by every kind of tactic. Such tactics are generally followed by every statesman, even in modern warfare, but they are all done materially by powerful espionages, military tactics and diplomatic maneuvers. But because Arjuna was the Lord’s affectionate devotee, the Lord did all this Himself without personal anxiety by Arjuna. That is the way of the devotional service to the Lord.