Shloka 40
अध्याय २२ — अमर्याद-युद्धवर्णन
Unrestrained Battle Description and Śakuni’s Rear Assault
हया हयै: समासक्ता रथिनो रथिभि: सह । संकुलं चाभवद् भूयो घोररूपं विशाम्पते
hayā hayaiḥ samāsaktā rathino rathibhiḥ saha | saṅkulaṃ cābhavad bhūyo ghorarūpaṃ viśāmpate ||
Sañjaya said: The horses became entangled with other horses, and the chariot-warriors with opposing chariot-warriors. Once again the battlefield turned into a dense, confused press—terrible in appearance, O lord of men—showing how, when fury and rivalry surge, order collapses and combat becomes a blind, perilous crush.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how warfare rapidly devolves into saṅkula—confused, indiscriminate entanglement—where control and clarity vanish. Ethically, it highlights the tragic momentum of violence: once unleashed, it tends to intensify and recur (bhūyaḥ), producing dreadful conditions that test restraint and discernment.
Sañjaya reports to the king that the fight has again become a tightly packed melee: horses are locked with horses and chariot-fighters collide with chariot-fighters, creating a terrifying, chaotic scene on the battlefield.