Shloka 21
गौरुडव्यूह-रचना तथा अर्धचन्द्र-प्रत्यव्यूह
Garuḍa Array and the Ardhacandra Counter-Formation
शब्दायमाने संग्रामे पटहे कर्णदारिणि | युद्धयमानस्य संग्रामे कुर्वतः पौरुषं स्वकम्,जिघांसन्तं युधां श्रेष्ठ तदा55सीत् तुमुलं महत् । संजय कहते हैं--राजन्! पाण्डवपक्षके लाखों क्षत्रियशिरोमणि महारथी विराट सेनापति शूरवीर श्वेतको आगे करके आपके पुत्र दुर्योधनको अपना बल दिखाते हुए शिखण्डीको सामने रखकर भीष्मके सुवर्णभूषित रथपर चढ़ आये। भारत! वे महारथी श्लेतकी रक्षा करना चाहते थे। इसलिये उसे मारनेकी इच्छावाले योद्धाओंमें श्रेष्ठ भीष्मपर उन्होंने धावा किया। उस समय बड़ा भयंकर युद्ध छिड़ गया
sañjaya uvāca | śabdāyamāne saṅgrāme paṭahe karṇadāriṇi | yudhyamānasya saṅgrāme kurvataḥ pauruṣaṃ svakam | jighāṃsantaṃ yudhāṃ śreṣṭhaṃ tadā āsīt tumulaṃ mahat ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, when the battlefield resounded and the war-drum—piercing to the ears—was being beaten, and when warriors were fighting, each displaying his own valor, they surged forward with the intent to slay the foremost of fighters. Then, at that moment, a vast and tumultuous clash arose.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war amplifies human impulses—valor, rivalry, and the intent to kill—showing the ethical tension of kṣatriya-duty: courage and prowess are praised, yet they unfold within destructive violence.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the battlefield has become deafening with drums and combat; warriors, displaying their prowess, press forward with lethal intent against the foremost fighter, and a massive, chaotic engagement erupts.