Shloka 20
Adhyāya 74 (Book 6, Bhīṣma-parva): Bhīma–Duryodhana re-engagement and afternoon escalation
भीष्म तोमर, नाराच और प्रास आदि धारण करनेवाले हाथीसवार, घुड़सवार तथा रथारोही योद्धाओंकी विशाल वाहिनीके साथ किरीटधारी अर्जुनसे भिड़ गये ।। आवन्त्य: काशिराजेन भीमसेनेन सैन्धव: । अजातशश्त्रुर्मद्राणामृषभेण यशस्विना
sañjaya uvāca | bhīṣmaḥ tomarān nārācān ca prāsādīn dhārayantaḥ hastisvārāḥ aśvasvārāḥ rathārohāś ca yoddhāḥ kirīṭadhāriṇam arjunam vipulāṃ vāhinīm āśritya samabhidudruvuḥ || āvantyaḥ kāśirājena bhīmasenena saindhavaḥ | ajātaśatruḥ madrāṇām ṛṣabheṇa yaśasvinā ||
Sañjaya dit : Bhīṣma, armé de javelots tomara, de flèches nārāca et de lances prāsa, avec une vaste armée de cavaliers d’éléphants, de chevaux et de guerriers de char, s’élança et se heurta à Arjuna, le porteur du diadème. Sur d’autres fronts aussi, les lignes se rencontrèrent en duels convenus : le prince d’Avanti affronta le roi de Kāśī ; Jayadratha du Sindhu pressa Bhīmasena ; et Ajātaśatru (Yudhiṣṭhira) fit face au fameux taureau parmi les Madras.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights kṣatriya-dharma in wartime: leaders and champions deliberately seek direct engagement with worthy opponents, accepting personal risk as part of duty. It also shows how individual valor operates within the larger, morally weighty catastrophe of war.
Sañjaya reports that Bhīṣma’s forces—elephant, cavalry, and chariot troops armed with heavy missiles—rush to engage Arjuna. Simultaneously, other key matchups form: the Avanti warrior fights the king of Kāśī; Jayadratha confronts Bhīma; and Yudhiṣṭhira (Ajātaśatru) faces a famed champion of the Madras.