Shloka 20
Sātyaki-praveśaḥ and Duryodhana-saṃnipātaḥ
Sātyaki’s passage and Duryodhana’s mass engagement
अजसं शैलशुज्भराणां वज्जेणाहन्यतामिव । उन दोनों युद्धकुशल वीरोंके धनुषोंकी प्रत्यंचाकी टंकारध्वनि ऐसी सुनायी देती थी, मानो पर्वतोंके शिखरोंपर निरन्तर वज़से आघात किया जा रहा हो ।। उभयोस्तौ रथौ राजंस्ते चाश्वास्ती च सारथी
ajasraṁ śailaśṛṅgāṇāṁ vajreṇāhanyatām iva | ubhayos tau rathau rājan te cāśvās te ca sārathī ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, the twang of the bowstrings of those two warriors—both consummate in battle—was heard as though the mountain-peaks were being struck again and again by a thunderbolt. And there were those two chariots, O King, along with their horses and their charioteers.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war amplifies human skill into overwhelming force: the warriors’ mastery is conveyed through a natural simile (thunderbolt striking mountains), reminding the listener that martial prowess, when unleashed, becomes a relentless and world-shaking power—ethically weighty because such power inevitably brings destruction.
Sañjaya reports to the king that two expert fighters are engaged so fiercely that the sound of their bowstrings resembles continuous thunderbolt-blows on mountain summits; he then notes the presence of both chariots, their horses, and their charioteers, setting the scene for an intense chariot-duel.