Shloka 563
भीष्मधनंजयद्वैरथम्
Bhīṣma–Dhanaṃjaya Duel and the Opening Clash
तथैव चापनिर्घोष॑ चक्रतुस्तोौ महारथौ । वे दोनों महारथी सिंहनादसे मिला हुआ शंखनाद करते और धनुषकी टंकार फैलाते रहते थे
tathaiva cāpanirghoṣaṃ cakratus tau mahārathau |
Sañjaya said: In the same manner, those two great chariot-warriors continued to raise the deep reverberation of their bows and the thunder of their conches—lion-like battle-cries that spread across the field, proclaiming resolve and challenging the opposing host.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya ethos in war: disciplined courage and the public declaration of resolve. The sounds of bow and conch function as a moral-psychological assertion of readiness to uphold one’s chosen duty in the impending conflict.
Sañjaya describes two foremost warriors continuously producing the booming sounds of their bows (and, by context, conches and lion-roars), spreading their martial challenge across the battlefield as the armies prepare and the confrontation intensifies.