Shloka 18
भीष्मधनंजयद्वैरथम्
Bhīṣma–Dhanaṃjaya Duel and the Opening Clash
चलद्बहुपताकेन बलाकावर्णवाजिना । समुच्छितमहाभीमनदद्वानरकेतुना
sañjaya uvāca | calad-bahu-patākena balākā-varṇa-vājinā | samucchita-mahā-bhīma-nadad-vānara-ketunā | prāyāc charaṇadaḥ śīghraṃ suhṛdāṃ harṣa-vardhanaḥ |
قال سانجيا: كانت على العربة رايات كثيرة ترفرف، تجرّها خيول بيضاء كصفّ الكُرْكِيّ، وتعلوها راية سامقة عليها قرد يزأر زئيرًا مُرعبًا. اندفعت العربة مسرعة. وعلى ذلك المركب العظيم ركب أرجونا—ملجأ من يلتمس الحماية ومُنمّي فرح الأصدقاء—وأسرع نحو بهيشما وهو يصرع محاربي جيش الكورافا في طريقه.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic ideal within warfare: power, speed, and fearsome display are not praised as mere domination but as instruments of responsibility—Arjuna is described as “śaraṇada” (a giver of refuge) and “harṣa-vardhana” (one who increases the joy of friends), suggesting that even in battle the warrior’s identity is tied to protection, loyalty, and purposeful action rather than cruelty.
Sañjaya describes Arjuna’s magnificent chariot—its many fluttering banners, white horses, and the roaring monkey-emblem on the high standard—and then states that Arjuna advances swiftly toward Bhīṣma, cutting through warriors of the Kaurava host on the way.