Shloka 34
Bhagadatta’s Advance, the Saṃśaptaka Challenge, and Arjuna’s Counterstrike (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय २६)
तदद्भुतमपश्याम भगदत्तस्य संयुगे
tad adbhutam apaśyāma bhagadattasya saṁyuge
Sañjaya said: In that battle, we witnessed a truly wondrous feat performed by Bhagadatta—an extraordinary display of prowess amid the chaos of war, stirring awe even among seasoned warriors.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The line highlights how, even within a destructive war, extraordinary human capability can evoke wonder; it implicitly points to the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between admiration for valor (kṣātra-tejas) and the sobering ethical cost of violence.
Sañjaya, reporting the battlefield events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, remarks that he and others witnessed something astonishing in the combat involving Bhagadatta, signaling a notable feat or turn of action centered on that warrior.