Shloka 236
गौरुडव्यूह-रचना तथा अर्धचन्द्र-प्रत्यव्यूह
Garuḍa Array and the Ardhacandra Counter-Formation
पिता पुत्र च समरे नाभिजानाति कश्चन । वह युद्ध अत्यन्त भयंकर, रोमांचकारी तथा सबको व्याकुल कर देनेवाला था। उसमें कोई पिता अपने पुत्रको भी पहचान नहीं पाता था
pitā putraṃ ca samare nābhijānāti kaścana | tad yuddham atyanta-bhayaṅkaraṃ romāñcakāri ca sarva-vyākula-karaṃ babhūva | tasmin kaścid api pitā sva-putram api na pratyabhijānāt |
Sañjaya said: In that battle no one could recognize even his own son. The fighting had become exceedingly dreadful—thrilling in its terror and so agitating that it threw everyone into confusion. In such chaos, even a father failed to identify his own child, showing how war can eclipse ordinary bonds and moral clarity.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how the violence and confusion of war can overwhelm normal human recognition and familial bonds, warning that conflict can eclipse moral discernment and ordinary social order.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield as so terrifying and tumultuous that combatants cannot even identify close relatives; the fighting has reached a pitch of chaos where a father may not recognize his own son.