Shloka 1
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय 18: सेनानिनादः, ध्वज-दीप्तिः, भीष्मरक्षण-व्यवस्था च
Battle Muster: Soundscape, Banners, and the Protection of Bhīṣma
इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत भीष्मपर्वके अन्तर्गत श्रीमद्भगवद््गीतापर्वमें सैन्यवर्णणनविषयक सत्रहवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ ॥/ १७ ॥। ऑपनआक्रात बछ। अ-काज जा अष्टादशो< ध्याय: कौरवसेनाका कोलाहल तथा भीष्मके रक्षकोंका वर्णन संजय उवाच ततो मुहूर्तात् तुमुलः शब्दो हृदयकम्पन: । अश्रूयत महाराज योधानां प्रयुयुत्मताम्
sañjaya uvāca | tato muhūrtāt tumulaḥ śabdo hṛdaya-kampanaḥ | aśrūyata mahārāja yodhānāṃ prayuyutsatām ||
Sañjaya said: Then, after a short while, O King, there arose a tumultuous roar—so intense it made the heart tremble—heard from the warriors eager for battle. The verse sets the moral weight of the coming conflict: outward martial clamor answered by inward shaking, even before weapons meet.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Before any explicit instruction is given, the verse underscores the ethical seriousness of war: collective enthusiasm for violence manifests as deafening clamor, yet it is described as 'heart-shaking,' implying that even justified conflict carries psychological and moral weight that a ruler must recognize.
Sanjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that, shortly after, a tremendous uproar is heard from the warriors ready to fight—signaling the battlefield’s escalation and setting the atmosphere for the events and descriptions that follow in this chapter.