Shloka 23
भीमसेनस्य बहुमहारथसंयुगः
Bhīmasena’s Engagement with Multiple Mahārathas
गदाभिभिंन्दिपालैश्न निशितैश्व शिलीमुखै: । अनुकर्षैरुपासड्ड श्षक्रैर्भग्नैश्ष मारिष
gadābhir bhindipālaiś ca niśitaiś ca śilīmukhaiḥ | anukarṣair upāsadya śastrair bhagnaiś ca māriṣa ||
Sañjaya dit : «Ô vénérable, ils se ruèrent sur lui, frappant de massues, de bhindipālas et de flèches acérées ; ils pressèrent l’assaut avec des crocs de traction et d’autres armes, et même avec des armes brisées : tant le choc fut violent.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the brutal immediacy of war: when combatants abandon restraint, weapons and bodies alike are broken. Implicitly it highlights the ethical weight of kṣatriya conflict—valor and duty unfold amid suffering and destruction.
Sañjaya describes a close-quarters assault in which fighters rush in and strike with multiple weapons—maces, heavy darts, and sharp arrows—pressing the opponent hard, with weapons breaking in the intensity of the fight.