Shloka 23
अध्याय १५९ — रात्रौ श्रमविरामः
Night Exhaustion and Brief Pause in Battle
अमर्षयन्तो निहतं शतचन्द्रं महारथम्
amarṣayanto nihataṃ śatacandraṃ mahāratham
Sañjaya said: Unable to bear it, they brooded over the fall of the great chariot-warrior Śatacandra, who had been slain—an image of how grief and wounded pride surge amid the moral chaos of battle.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a recurring ethical tension in the epic: in war, the death of a renowned warrior does not end conflict but often intensifies it, as resentment and wounded honor drive further violence—showing how passions can eclipse discernment (dharma-viveka) amid battle.
Sañjaya reports that the warriors on one side (implied by context) could not tolerate the killing of the great fighter Śatacandra; their indignation and grief rise, setting the emotional ground for retaliation and renewed combat.