Shloka 26

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

Devanagari script

स्वयं दुर्योधनो राजा पार्षतं समुपाद्रवत्‌ । द्रोणाचार्यने विराटपर और अभ्व॒त्थामाने शिखण्डीपर धावा किया। स्वयं राजा दुर्योधनने ट्रपदपर चढ़ाई की ।। नकुल: सहदेवश्न मद्रराजानमीयतु:

Transliteration

svayaṃ duryodhano rājā pārṣataṃ samupādravat | droṇācāryaś ca virāṭaṃ śikhaṇḍinaṃ cābhyadhāvat | nakulaḥ sahadevaś ca madrarājānam īyatuḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: King Duryodhana himself rushed against the son of Pṛṣata (Dhṛṣṭadyumna). Droṇācārya advanced against Virāṭa and also charged at Śikhaṇḍin. Nakula and Sahadeva, for their part, went to engage the king of Madra. The battle-lines thus formed by deliberate choice of opponents, revealing how personal rivalries and strategic aims drive the violence of war even among those who know its moral cost.

Word by Word

• स्वयम्: himself
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्वयम्
• Form: avyaya

• दुर्योधनः: Duryodhana
• दुर्योधनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुर्योधन
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• राजा: the king
• राजा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• पार्षतम्: the son of Prishata (Dhrishtadyumna)
• पार्षतम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्षत
• Form: masculine, accusative, singular

• समुपाद्रवत्: rushed/charged at
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्+उप+आ+द्रु
• Form: imperfect (laṅ), 3rd person, singular, parasmaipada

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Duryodhana
• Dhṛṣṭadyumna (Pārṣata)
• Droṇācārya
• Virāṭa
• Śikhaṇḍin
• Nakula
• Sahadeva
• Śalya (king of Madra)
• Madra

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how, in war, leaders deliberately choose opponents to meet strategic and personal aims; it implicitly raises the ethical tension between kṣatriya duty (fighting as required) and the destructive consequences of rivalry-driven violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports specific battlefield engagements: Duryodhana personally attacks Dhṛṣṭadyumna; Droṇa advances against Virāṭa and Śikhaṇḍin; and the twin Pāṇḍavas Nakula and Sahadeva move to confront Śalya, the king of Madra.