Shloka 5
धृतराष्ट्र-संजय-संवादः — इरावान्-आवन्त्ययोः युद्धम्, घटोत्कच-भगदत्त-संघर्षः, मद्रेश्वर-विक्षेपः
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Sañjaya Dialogue: Irāvān vs the Avanti princes; Ghaṭotkaca vs Bhagadatta; Śalya checked by the Mādrī twins
प्रासर्ड्ितोमरेष्वाजौ परिघेष्वायसेषु च । भिन्दिपालेषु शक्तीषु मुसलेषु च सर्वश:,ये सैनिक प्रास, ऋष्टि, तोमर, लोहमय परिघ, भिन्दिपाल, शक्ति, मुसल, कम्पन, चाप तथा कणप आदि दूसरोंपर चलानेयोग्य विचित्र अस्त्रोंका युद्धमें प्रयोग करनेकी कलामें कुशल तथा मुष्टियुद्धमें भी सब प्रकारसे समर्थ हैं
prāsar̥ṣṭitomareṣv ājau parigheṣv āyaseṣu ca | bhindipāleṣu śaktīṣu musaleṣu ca sarvaśaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “In that battle, they were thoroughly skilled in the use of missiles and heavy weapons—spears, lances, javelins, iron clubs, bhindipālas, śaktis, and maces—deploying them in every way.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse is not a moral maxim but a battlefield observation: it highlights comprehensive proficiency in many kinds of weapons. In a dharma-war context, such mastery intensifies the ethical stakes—skill is power, and power in war carries grave consequences.
Sañjaya is describing the combatants’ capabilities, listing the various missile and heavy weapons they can wield expertly in the ongoing battle of Kurukṣetra.