Shloka 41
अध्याय २२ — अमर्याद-युद्धवर्णन
Unrestrained Battle Description and Śakuni’s Rear Assault
प्रजानाथ! उस समय मनुष्य मनुष्योंसे, हाथी हाथियोंसे, घोड़े घोड़ोंसे और रथी रथियोंसे भिड़ गये थे। फिर उनमें अत्यन्त घोर घमासान युद्ध होने लगा ।।
prajānātha! us samaya manuṣyā manuṣyaiḥ, hastī hastibhiḥ, ghoḍā ghoḍaiḥ, rathī rathibhiḥ ca bhiḍitāḥ sma; tataḥ teṣāṃ madhye atyanta-ghoraḥ ghamāsāna-yuddhaḥ pravavṛte. idaṃ citram idaṃ ghoram idaṃ raudram iti prabho | yuddhāny āsan mahārāja ghorāṇi ca bahūni ca ||
Sañjaya dit : «Ô seigneur des peuples, alors les hommes se heurtèrent aux hommes, les éléphants aux éléphants, les chevaux aux chevaux, et les guerriers de char aux guerriers de char. Puis, au milieu d’eux, éclata une mêlée d’une effroyable violence, toute de tumulte et de confusion. “C’est étrange ! c’est terrible ! c’est furieux !”—ainsi, ô roi, se déroulaient maints engagements redoutables.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral and psychological reality of war: once armies collide, combat becomes a chaotic melee where categories (man, elephant, horse, chariot-warrior) meet their counterparts in direct violence. Sañjaya’s repeated labels—‘strange, terrible, furious’—highlight how warfare overwhelms orderly ideals of dharma with fear, rage, and confusion, inviting reflection on the cost of conflict even when framed as kṣatriya duty.
Sañjaya reports to the king that the battle has intensified into close, like-for-like engagements: infantry against infantry, elephants against elephants, horses against horses, and chariot-warriors against chariot-warriors. The fighting turns into an extremely fierce ghamāsāna (general melee), with many dreadful encounters occurring simultaneously.