Shloka 17
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय 18: सेनानिनादः, ध्वज-दीप्तिः, भीष्मरक्षण-व्यवस्था च
Battle Muster: Soundscape, Banners, and the Protection of Bhīṣma
पादाताश्षाग्रतो5गच्छन् धनुश्चर्मासिपाणय: । अनेकशतसाहस्रा नखरप्रासयोधिन:
pādātāḥ agrato 'gacchan dhanuś-carmāsi-pāṇayaḥ | aneka-śata-sāhasrā nakhara-prāsa-yodhinaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “In the van there advanced foot-soldiers—numbering many hundreds of thousands—bearing bow, shield, and sword in their hands. They were also trained to fight with nakhara weapons (claw-like blades) and with spears.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the scale and discipline of the war-host: even the infantry are numerous and well-equipped with diverse weapons. Ethically, it frames the coming conflict as a fully mobilized kṣatriya battlefield where duty, preparedness, and the consequences of mass violence are inescapably present.
Sañjaya is reporting to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the battlefield scene at Kurukṣetra. Here he describes the vanguard of the army: vast numbers of foot-soldiers marching ahead, carrying bows, shields, and swords, and skilled also with claw-weapons and spears.