Shloka 37
भीमसेन-दुर्योधन-प्रहारः तथा घटोत्कचमायाप्रादुर्भावः | Bhīmasena–Duryodhana Clash and the Manifestation of Ghaṭotkaca’s Māyā
अन्योन्यं ते समासाद्य कुरुपाण्डवसैनिका: । अस्त्रैननिविधैघोरै रणे निन्युर्यमक्षयम्
anyonyam te samāsādya kuru-pāṇḍava-sainikāḥ | astrair nānāvidhair ghorair raṇe ninnyur yamakṣayam ||
Sañjaya said: Closing upon one another, the soldiers of the Kurus and the Pāṇḍavas, in the thick of battle, struck with many kinds of dreadful weapons and sent their opponents to Yama’s abode.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh ethical reality of war: once armies close in, violence becomes reciprocal and relentless, culminating in death. It implicitly frames the battlefield as a domain where kṣatriya-dharma (the duty to fight) operates, yet the human cost—sending others to Yama’s realm—remains stark and morally weighty.
Sañjaya describes the Kurus and Pāṇḍavas engaging at close quarters. They collide in battle and use many kinds of fearsome weapons, killing opponents and thus ‘sending’ them to Yama’s abode—an epic idiom for death on the battlefield.