Shloka 23
Arjuna–Bhīṣma Strategic Engagement and Mutual Arrow-Interdiction (भीष्मार्जुनसमागमः)
सर्वे त्वन्ये महीपाला: प्रेक्षका इव भारत । ददृशुर्दर्शनीयं त॑ भीम॑ ज्ञातिसमागमम्,भरतनन्दन! दूसरे सब राजालोग उस कुट॒म्बीजनोंके भयंकर दर्शनीय संग्रामको दर्शककी भाँति देखने लगे
sarve tv anye mahīpālāḥ prekṣakā iva bhārata | dadṛśur darśanīyaṃ taṃ bhīmaṃ jñātisamāgamaṃ ||
Sañjaya said: “All the other kings, O Bhārata, looked on like mere spectators, beholding that awe-inspiring and terrible clash among kinsmen—Bhīma’s fierce encounter within the family’s own ranks.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral shock of a war among relatives: even powerful rulers can become passive onlookers when confronted with the dreadful spectacle of kin-slaying. It implicitly raises an ethical tension central to the Mahābhārata—dharma in war versus the tragedy of family conflict.
Sañjaya reports that the other kings present did not actively intervene; instead, they watched like spectators as a fearsome, ‘worth-seeing’ encounter unfolded among kinsmen on the battlefield.