Shloka 71
भीष्मधनंजयद्वैरथम्
Bhīṣma–Dhanaṃjaya Duel and the Opening Clash
शितधारैस्तथा खड्गैर्विमलैश्न परश्वधै: । शरैरन्यैश्व बहुभि: शस्त्रै्नानाविधेरपि
śitadhāraistathā khaḍgairvimalaiś ca paraśvadhaiḥ | śarair anyaiś ca bahubhiḥ śastrair nānāvidhair api ||
Sanjaya said: With keen-edged swords, with bright and spotless axes, and with many other arrows and weapons of diverse kinds as well, the warriors pressed the battle forward.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse does not give a direct moral injunction; it intensifies the depiction of war’s machinery—many kinds of weapons—inviting reflection on how conflict, once unleashed, multiplies instruments of harm and carries its own momentum, a recurring ethical tension in the Mahābhārata.
Sañjaya narrates the battle scene, describing combatants employing sharp swords, gleaming axes, numerous arrows, and many other varied weapons—signaling a fierce phase of fighting in the Bhīṣma Parva.