Shloka 20
Arjuna–Bhīṣma Strategic Engagement and Mutual Arrow-Interdiction (भीष्मार्जुनसमागमः)
तस्मिन् प्रथमसंग्रामे भीमज्यातलनिःस्वने । तावकानां परेषां च नासीत् कश्चित् पराड्मुख:
tasmin prathama-saṅgrāme bhīma-jyā-tala-niḥsvane | tāvakānāṃ pareṣāṃ ca nāsīt kaścit parāṅmukhaḥ ||
قال سنجيا: في ذلك الاشتباك الأول، وسط رجعٍ مرعب لأوتار الأقواس ودوّي الضربات الرنانة (حين كان المحاربون يضربون أذرعهم تحدّيًا)، لم يُولِّ أحدٌ وجهه عن القتال—لا من بين أبنائك ولا من بين الجيش المقابل.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights steadfastness in one’s chosen duty: in the opening engagement, neither side faltered or turned away. Ethically, it frames the battlefield as a test of resolve and kṣatriya-dharma—courage and commitment, regardless of which side one serves.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that at the very start of the war, the field thundered with bowstring twangs and warriors’ challenge-cries/arm-slaps, and that no warrior among the Kauravas or the opposing forces retreated or lost heart.