Shloka 37
अभिमन्यु-परिवेष्टनम्
Encirclement and Counterassault of Abhimanyu
आरूढाज्गशिक्षितैर्योधै: शकक््त्यृष्टिप्रासयोधिभि: । विध्वस्तचामरमुखान् विप्रविद्धप्रकीर्णकान्
ārūḍāṅgaśikṣitair yodhaiḥ śaktyṛṣṭiprāsayodhibhiḥ | vidhvastacāmaramukhān vipraviddhaprakīrṇakān ||
Sañjaya said: The warriors, well-trained in mounted combat, and skilled in the use of spears, javelins, lances, and other weapons, struck down and scattered those whose foremost ranks and standards were shattered—men pierced and thrown into confusion amid the violence of battle. The verse underscores how disciplined martial training, when yoked to wrath and rivalry, becomes a force that breaks formations and lives alike, intensifying the moral weight of war’s devastation.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the power of disciplined training and weapon-skill in war, while implicitly pointing to war’s ethical burden: such skill, though admirable as kṣatriya competence, results in shattered ranks and scattered lives, reminding the listener of the human cost behind martial excellence.
Sañjaya describes a phase of intense fighting in which well-trained mounted warriors, using spears and javelins, break the enemy’s front ranks and insignia, piercing and dispersing them so that their formation collapses into confusion.