Shloka 22
रणभूमिवर्णनम् — Devāsuropama-yuddha and the ‘River’ Metaphor of the Battlefield
विधुन्वन् कार्मुकं चित्र भारघ्नं वेगवत्तरम् । रथप्रवरमास्थाय सैन्धवाश्वंं महारथ:
vidhunvan kārmukaṃ citraṃ bhāraghnaṃ vegavattaram | rathapravaram āsthāya saindhavāśvaṃ mahārathaḥ ||
Sañjaya sprach: O König, den wunderbaren Bogen schüttelnd—lastvernichtend und von überragender Schnelligkeit—und einen erstrangigen, mit Sindhu-Pferden bespannten Wagen besteigend, rückte der große Krieger vor, um die Pāṇḍavas zu treffen. Das Bild betont den düsteren Schwung der Schlacht: hier Zuspruch und Formierung, dort der entschlossene Vorstoß eines Feldherrn, der seine Kraft auf ein gewaltsames Ende bündelt.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, leadership manifests through readiness, morale, and disciplined deployment of strength; ethically, it points to the sobering reality that skill and resolve can be directed toward destructive ends, reminding readers to weigh power against dharma.
Sañjaya describes a great warrior mounting a superior chariot drawn by Sindhu-bred horses and brandishing a remarkable, swift bow, then moving to attack the Pāṇḍavas—signaling an escalation and organized offensive in the battle.