Shloka 5
Chapter 23: Śakuni Reports, Kaurava Advance, and Arjuna’s Penetration of the Host
आपके और शत्रुओंके योद्धाओंका वह युद्ध देवासुर-संग्रामके समान भयंकर था। उस समय शत्रुओंकी अथवा आपकी सेनामें भी कोई युद्धसे विमुख नहीं होता था ।। अनुमानेन युध्यन्ते संज्ञाभिश्व परस्परम् | तेषां क्षयो महानासीद् युध्यतामितरेतरम्
anumānena yudhyante saṃjñābhiś ca parasparam | teṣāṃ kṣayo mahān āsīd yudhyatām itaretaram ||
Sañjaya said: Fighting one another by signs and by inference, they pressed on in that dreadful battle—like the clash of gods and demons. None in either army, yours or the enemy’s, turned away from combat; and as they struck each other without pause, the destruction among them became immense.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war rapidly becomes a realm of confusion where fighters act on signals and guesswork, yet remain bound by martial resolve; the ethical undertone is the tragic inevitability of massive loss once collective violence is fully unleashed.
Sañjaya describes an intensely chaotic phase of the battle in which both sides continue fighting without retreat; amid noise and disorder they coordinate by signs and inference, and the mutual fighting results in heavy casualties.