Shloka 24
आत्मदोष-उपदेशः तथा भीम-धृष्टद्युम्नयोः संयोगः
Self-Causation Counsel and the Bhīma–Dhṛṣṭadyumna Convergence
अपरे बाहुभिवरीरा नियुद्धकुशला युधि । बहुधा समसज्जन्त आयसै: परिघैरिव
apare bāhubhir vīrā niyuddha-kuśalā yudhi | bahudhā samasajjanta āyasaiḥ parighair iva ||
और कितने ही मल्लयुद्ध में कुशल वीर उस रणभूमि में लोहे के परिघों के समान मोटी भुजाओं से परस्पर भिड़कर अनेक प्रकार के दाँव-पेंच दिखाते हुए लड़ रहे थे।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war reduces human strength and discipline into instruments of harm: even refined skill (kuśalatā) in wrestling becomes a means to injure. It invites reflection on the ethical tension between valor/technique and the destructive ends they serve in a righteous war.
Sañjaya reports that some warriors are not using distant weapons but are locked in hand-to-hand grappling. Their arms are compared to iron clubs as they clash, showing many wrestling maneuvers while fighting amid the larger battle.