Shloka 24
भीष्मरक्षण-उद्योगः, शिखण्डि-विवर्जनं, सर्वतोभद्र-व्यूहः
Protection of Bhīṣma, Exemption of Śikhaṇḍin, and the Sarvatobhadra Array
अश्रत्थामा विकर्णशक्ष चित्रसेनो विविंशति: । रथाश्चानेकसाहस्रा ये तेषामनुयायिन:
sañjaya uvāca | aśvatthāmā vikarṇaś ca citraseno viviṁśatiḥ | rathāś cānekasāhasrā ye teṣām anuyāyinaḥ |
Sañjaya sprach: Aśvatthāmā, Vikarṇa, Citrasena und Viviṁśati—zusammen mit vielen Tausenden von Wagen, die ihnen folgten—rückten als Schutzmacht vor. Ihr Ziel war es, deinen Sohn Duryodhana zu bewahren, als er von einem wilden, rākṣasa-gleichen Ansturm getroffen wurde; gestützt von solchen großen Wagenkämpfern wurde jenes Heer äußerst schwer zu bezwingen.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how collective strength and disciplined followership can make an army formidable; ethically, it also invites reflection on how valor and loyalty may be employed in defense of a questionable cause, showing the tension between martial duty and righteous purpose.
Sañjaya lists prominent Kaurava warriors—Aśvatthāmā, Vikarṇa, Citrasena, and Viviṁśati—who, with many thousands of chariots, move to protect Duryodhana when he is under a fierce attack described as rākṣasa-like; their presence and support render the host difficult to defeat.