Shloka 25
गौरुडव्यूह-रचना तथा अर्धचन्द्र-प्रत्यव्यूह
Garuḍa Array and the Ardhacandra Counter-Formation
एवं च समरे सर्वे वीराश्न विरथीकृता:,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 | evaṃ ca samare sarve vīrāś ca virathīkṛtāḥ | jighāṃsantaṃ yudhāṃ śreṣṭhaṃ tadā āsīt tumulaṃ mahat ||
Sañjaya said: “Thus, in that battle, many heroes were deprived of their chariots, and when they surged forward with the intent to slay the foremost of warriors, a vast and tumultuous clash arose.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral and practical reality of war: status and prowess can collapse in an instant (even heroes become chariotless), and collective intent to destroy a key opponent can escalate into overwhelming violence—highlighting the grave ethical weight of martial decisions.
Sanjaya reports that the fighting intensified: warriors were being unseated and made chariotless, and as fighters pressed forward aiming to kill the foremost warrior (contextually Bhishma), the battle swelled into a great, terrifying tumult.