Shloka 60
ततः प्रववृते युद्ध भीरूणां भयवर्धनम् । तावकानां परेषां च मृत्युं कृत्वा निवर्तनम्,तदनन्तर मृत्युको ही युद्धसे निवृत्तिका निमित्त बनाकर आपके और शत्रुपक्षके योद्धाओंमें घोर युद्ध आरम्भ हो गया, जो कायरोंका भय बढ़ानेवाला था
tataḥ pravavṛte yuddhaṁ bhīrūṇāṁ bhayavardhanam | tāvakānāṁ pareṣāṁ ca mṛtyuṁ kṛtvā nivartanam ||
Sañjaya said: “Then the battle surged forth—one that heightened the fear of the faint-hearted. Warriors on both sides, yours and the enemy’s, fought in such a way that death itself became the cause for turning back, as men withdrew only when struck down or forced to retreat by mortal peril.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the psychological reality of war: it magnifies fear in the timid, and it shows how mortality governs human resolve—combatants often persist until the threat of death forces retreat. Ethically, it frames battle as a domain where courage and duty are tested under the shadow of inevitable death.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a fierce engagement has begun. Both the Kaurava side ('yours') and the opposing side are locked in a grim fight, where withdrawal occurs only when death or mortal danger compels it.