Shloka 5
तत् ते5हं सम्प्रवक्ष्यामि महावैशसमद्भुतम्,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 | tat te 'haṃ sampravakṣyāmi mahāvaiśasam adbhutam | jighāṃsantaṃ yudhāṃ śreṣṭha tadā 'sīt tumulaṃ mahat ||
Sanjaya said: O King, I shall now recount to you that astonishing scene of great carnage. When the foremost of warriors advanced with the intent to slay, a vast and tumultuous battle erupted at that time.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames war as a realm where intention (jighāṃsā—desire to kill) rapidly produces collective catastrophe (mahāvaiśasa). It implicitly warns that even when war is pursued under kṣatriya-duty, its ethical cost is immense and must be faced without illusion.
Sañjaya tells Dhṛtarāṣṭra that he will describe an extraordinary episode of massive slaughter. He notes that when the leading warriors moved forward with lethal intent, the fighting swelled into a great, chaotic, and terrifying battle.