Shloka 24

भीष्मभीमसमागमः — Bhīṣma–Bhīma Strategic Engagement and Counsel to the King

Devanagari script

बिभित्सवस्ततो व्यूहं निर्ययुर्युद्धकाड्क्षिण:

Transliteration

bibhitsavas tato vyūhaṃ niryayur yuddhakāṅkṣiṇaḥ

Translation

Sanjaya said: Then, driven by the desire to strike and overcome, and eager for battle, they marched out in formation (vyūha), ready to engage in the righteous yet terrible work of war.

Word by Word

• बिभित्सवः: wishing to break/cleave (the enemy), eager to shatter
• बिभित्सवः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बिभित्सु (√भिद् इच्छार्थे; desiderative adjective)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• व्यूहम्: battle-array, formation
• व्यूहम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्यूह
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• निर्ययुः: went forth, marched out
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-√या
• Form: Perfect (Paroksha), 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada

• युद्धकाङ्क्षिणः: desiring battle, eager for fighting
• युद्धकाङ्क्षिणः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: युद्ध-काङ्क्षिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• vyūha (battle formation)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the momentum of war: once hostility and the will to conquer arise, armies move in disciplined formations. Ethically, it points to the Mahabharata’s tension between dharma (duty and order, here expressed as organized battle) and the destructive impulse of violence (bibhitsā—desire to harm).

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that the warriors/armies advance from their positions and proceed in a structured battle-array (vyūha), eager to fight. It marks the transition from preparation to active engagement on the battlefield.