Shloka 51
द्रोणपर्व — अध्याय १६२: प्रातःसंध्यायां युद्धप्रवृत्तिः तथा रजोमेघे संमूढता
तस्मिंस्तु तुमुले युद्धे भीरूणां भयवर्धने । मुहूर्तमपि तद् युद्धं समरूपं तदाभवत्
tasmiṃstu tumule yuddhe bhīrūṇāṃ bhayavardhane | muhūrtam api tad yuddhaṃ samarūpaṃ tadābhavat ||
Sañjaya said: In that tumultuous battle—one that only increased the fear of the faint-hearted—even for a single moment the fighting assumed a uniform, evenly matched character, as though both sides were alike in force and resolve.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war amplifies fear in the timid and shows the instability of battlefield advantage: even amid chaos, the struggle can briefly become evenly matched, reminding readers that confidence and panic are both contagious and that outcomes can shift moment by moment.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that during a fierce and confusing phase of the fighting, the combat for a time appeared balanced—neither side clearly dominating—while the general terror of the battlefield intensified for those lacking courage.