Shloka 34
Adhyāya 78 — Bhīṣma’s Advance, Duryodhana’s Rally, and Concurrent Duels (भीष्मस्याभ्युद्यमः, दुर्योधनस्योत्साहवचनम्, विविधयुद्धवर्णनम्)
तथैव तावकं सैन्यं भीमार्जुनपरिक्षतम् । मुहाते तत्र तत्रेव समदेव वराड़ना,इसी प्रकार भीम और अर्जुनके बाणोंसे क्षत-विक्षत हुई आपकी सेना मतवाली स्त्रीकी भाँति जहाँ-तहाँ मूर्च्छित होने लगी
tathaiva tāvakaṃ sainyaṃ bhīmārjunaparikṣatam | muhūte tatra tatraiva samadeva varāṅganā ||
Sañjaya said: “In the same way, your army—torn and mangled by the shafts of Bhīma and Arjuna—began, within a short time, to swoon and collapse here and there, like a woman overcome by intoxication.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the immediate moral and practical consequence of adharma-driven conflict: when leadership persists in a wrongful course, the collective (the army) bears the suffering. It also highlights how fear and shock can break even a large force when confronted by disciplined valor.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Kaurava troops, struck and badly wounded by Bhīma and Arjuna, begin to lose cohesion—fainting and collapsing in different places—showing the Pāṇḍava warriors’ overwhelming impact on the battlefield.