Shloka 23
सैन्यसंनिवेशः (Sainyasaṃniveśaḥ) — Deployment, Omens, and Yuddha-Dharma Conventions
उभे सैन्ये च राजेन्द्र युद्धाय मुदिते भृशम् । कुरुक्षेत्रे स्थिते यत्ते सागरक्षुभितोपमे
ubhe sainye ca rājendra yuddhāya mudite bhṛśam | kurukṣetre sthite yatte sāgarakṣubhitopame ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “O king, both armies—exceedingly elated and eager for battle—stood facing one another on the field of Kurukṣetra, like two great oceans churned into turmoil.”
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how collective zeal for war can swell into a force as uncontrollable as a storm-tossed ocean, implicitly inviting reflection on the ethical gravity of mass violence even when it is framed as duty.
Vaiśaṃpāyana describes to King Janamejaya that the two opposing armies have taken their positions on Kurukṣetra, standing face-to-face, intensely excited for battle, compared to two agitated seas confronting each other.