Shloka 71
भीष्मधनंजयद्वैरथम्
Bhīṣma–Dhanaṃjaya Duel and the Opening Clash
शितधारैस्तथा खड्गैर्विमलैश्न परश्वधै: । शरैरन्यैश्व बहुभि: शस्त्रै्नानाविधेरपि
śitadhāraistathā khaḍgairvimalaiś ca paraśvadhaiḥ | śarair anyaiś ca bahubhiḥ śastrair nānāvidhair api ||
तीखी धार वाले खड्गों, उज्ज्वल और निर्मल फरसों, तथा बहुत-से अन्य बाणों और नाना प्रकार के शस्त्रों से भी योद्धा युद्ध को आगे बढ़ा रहे थे।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse does not give a direct moral injunction; it intensifies the depiction of war’s machinery—many kinds of weapons—inviting reflection on how conflict, once unleashed, multiplies instruments of harm and carries its own momentum, a recurring ethical tension in the Mahābhārata.
Sañjaya narrates the battle scene, describing combatants employing sharp swords, gleaming axes, numerous arrows, and many other varied weapons—signaling a fierce phase of fighting in the Bhīṣma Parva.