Shloka 48
Rajo-dhūli-saṃmūḍha-saṅgrāmaḥ
The Dust-Obscured Battle and Mutual Charges
सा तु यौधिष्ठिरी सेना गाड़ेयशरपीडिता । सिंहेनेव विनिर्भिन्ना शुक्ला गौरिव गोपते
sā tu yaudhiṣṭhirī senā gāḍeyaśarapīḍitā | siṃheneva vinirbhinnā śuklā gauriva gopate rājan ||
Sañjaya dit : Mais l’armée de Yudhiṣṭhira, cruellement tourmentée par l’épaisse pluie de flèches, paraissait — ô roi — telle une vache blanche harcelée et déchirée par un lion. Frappée par les traits de Bhīṣma, fils de la Gaṅgā, cette armée semblait se disloquer dans la fureur de la guerre.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh reality of war: righteousness alone does not prevent suffering. Even a dharmic side can be overwhelmed by superior force, and the ethical test becomes endurance, discipline, and clarity of purpose amid violence.
Sañjaya describes Bhīṣma’s fierce archery on the battlefield. Yudhiṣṭhira’s forces, battered by a dense rain of arrows, look like a white cow being mauled by a lion—an image conveying panic, injury, and the crushing pressure of Bhīṣma’s assault.