Shloka 32
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय ९६: सौभद्रस्य आक्रमणम्, अलम्बुसस्य प्रतिविधानम्
Abhimanyu’s assault; Alambusa’s counter-engagement
नरा नरान् समासाद्य क्रोधरक्तेक्षणा भृशम् | उरांस्युरोभिरन्योन्यं समाश्लिष्य निजष्निरे,मनुष्य मनुष्योंपर आक्रमण करके अत्यन्त क्रोधसे लाल आँखें किये छातीसे छाती भिड़ाकर एक-दूसरेको मारने लगे
narā narān samāsādya krodha-rakte kṣaṇā bhṛśam | urāṁsy urobhir anyonyaṁ samāśliṣya nija-ghnire |
Sañjaya said: Men closed in upon men; their eyes were fiercely reddened with anger. Pressing chest against chest and grappling one another at close quarters, they began to strike down their own fellow men—war’s fury collapsing all restraint and turning human beings into each other’s destroyers.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger (krodha) overwhelms discernment and restraint, reducing people to mutual destruction. Ethically, it serves as a stark reminder of war’s dehumanizing force and the need for inner control even amid conflict.
Sañjaya describes intense hand-to-hand fighting: warriors rush at each other, eyes blazing with rage, lock chest-to-chest in grappling holds, and kill one another at very close range.