Shloka 496
गौरुडव्यूह-रचना तथा अर्धचन्द्र-प्रत्यव्यूह
Garuḍa Array and the Ardhacandra Counter-Formation
आपतत् सहसा भूयो यत्र भीष्मो व्यवस्थित: । राजन! विराटपुत्र श्वेत उस समय क्रोधसे मूर्च्छिंत हो रहे थे। वे आपकी सेनाको दूर भगाकर फिर सहसा वहीं आ पहुँचे, जहाँ भीष्म खड़े थे
āpatat sahasā bhūyo yatra bhīṣmo vyavasthitaḥ | rājan virāṭa-putraḥ śvetaḥ tadā krodhena mūrcchita iva | sa tava senāṃ dūrīkṛtya punar api sahasā tatraivābhyāpatat yatra bhīṣmaḥ sthitaḥ ||
Sanjaya said: “O King, Virāṭa’s son Śveta, as though overcome by wrath, charged again with sudden force to the very spot where Bhīṣma stood. Having driven your troops away, he swiftly returned and rushed once more toward Bhīṣma.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the battlefield tension between disciplined steadiness and impulsive fury: Bhīṣma stands firm while Śveta, overwhelmed by anger, repeatedly charges. It implicitly warns that valor without inner control can become rashness, even when aligned with a warrior’s duty.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Śveta, Virāṭa’s son, after scattering the Kaurava troops, suddenly returns and charges again toward Bhīṣma, who remains stationed and ready.