Shloka 2
Adhyāya 111 (Book 6): Daśama-dina-saṃgrāma—Bhīṣma’s Counsel to Yudhiṣṭhira and the Śikhaṇḍin-Led Advance
संजय उवाच ततस्ते पाण्डवा:ः सर्वे सूर्यस्योदयनं प्रति । ताड्यमानासु भेरीषु मृदड्भेष्वानकेषु च
sañjaya uvāca tataste pāṇḍavāḥ sarve sūryasyodayaṃ prati | tāḍyamānāsu bherīṣu mṛdaṅgeṣv ānakeṣu ca ||
Sañjaya dit : Alors tous les Pāṇḍava, tournés vers le soleil levant, s’avancèrent tandis qu’on battait les grands tambours de guerre—timbales, mṛdaṅga et autres instruments martiaux retentissant. La scène marquait l’ouverture solennelle du combat : non une querelle privée, mais un affrontement public et réglé, où le devoir et la résolution étaient proclamés par le fracas ritualisé des sons guerriers.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores disciplined, duty-bound warfare: action begins at an auspicious, public moment (sunrise) and is framed by formal martial signals. It reflects the Mahābhārata’s ethical tension—war is grievous, yet undertaken as a regulated kṣatriya obligation rather than impulsive violence.
Sañjaya reports that at sunrise the Pāṇḍavas move out as battle-instruments—bherīs, mṛdaṅgas, and ānakas—are struck. It sets the battlefield atmosphere and marks the organized start of the day’s engagement.