Shloka 296
भीमसेनस्य बहुमहारथसंयुगः
Bhīmasena’s Engagement with Multiple Mahārathas
प्रियं सखाय॑ं चाक्रन्दे सखा दैवबलात् कृत: । उस भीषण मार-काटमें दैवसे प्रेरित होकर पिताने पुत्रको, पुत्रने पिताको और मित्रने प्यारे मित्रको मार डाला
priyaṁ sakhāyaṁ cākrande sakhā daivabalāt kṛtaḥ |
Sañjaya said: In that dreadful slaughter, driven by the force of fate, a friend cried out for his beloved companion—yet friend became the slayer of friend. So too, fathers killed sons and sons killed fathers, as the bonds of affection were shattered under the compulsion of war and destiny.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral tragedy of war: even the closest human bonds—friendship and family—can be overturned when people are swept along by violence and the perceived compulsion of destiny (daiva). It invites reflection on responsibility, the cost of conflict, and the fragility of affection amid adharma-like chaos.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield’s horror: amid the massacre, a man laments for his dear friend, yet that very friend—driven by fate and the momentum of battle—kills him. The scene generalizes the carnage: fathers kill sons, sons kill fathers, and friends kill friends.