Shloka 70
भीष्मधनंजयद्वैरथम्
Bhīṣma–Dhanaṃjaya Duel and the Opening Clash
त्वदीयास्तु तदा योधा: पाण्डवेयाश्व॒ भारत | अन्योन्यं समरे जघ्नुस्तयोस्तत्र पराक्रमे
tvadīyās tu tadā yodhāḥ pāṇḍaveyāś ca bhārata | anyonyaṃ samare jaghnus tayos tatra parākrame ||
Sanjaya said: O Bharata, at that time, while those two heroes were displaying their prowess there, the warriors of your side and the sons of the Pāṇḍus too struck down one another on the battlefield—each bound to his allegiance, and yet all caught in the same consuming logic of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the impersonal momentum of war: even as great champions exhibit individual heroism, the wider armies—bound by duty to their respective sides—mutually destroy one another. It highlights how allegiance and kṣatriya-duty can propel collective violence beyond any single duel.
Sanjaya tells Dhṛtarāṣṭra that, at the same time as two principal heroes are demonstrating their prowess (in a prominent encounter), the surrounding Kaurava and Pāṇḍava troops are simultaneously engaged in mutual killing across the battlefield.