Shloka 21
भीमसेनस्य प्रतिघातः—भगदत्तगजप्रहारः—घटोत्कचमायायुद्धम्
Bhīma’s Counteroffensive, Bhagadatta’s Elephant Assault, and Ghaṭotkaca’s Māyā Engagement
धावतां च रथौघानां निघ्नतां च पृथक् पृथक्,भारत! दौड़ते तथा पृथक्-पृथक् प्रहार करते हुए रथसमूहोंका शब्द दुन्दुभियोंकी ध्वनिसे मिलकर और भी भयंकर हो गया। आपके और पाण्डवोंके घमासान युद्धमें परस्पर आघात-प्रत्याघात करनेवाले नरवीरोंका भयानक शब्द आकाशमें व्याप्त हो रहा था
dhāvatāṁ ca rathaughānāṁ nighnatāṁ ca pṛthak pṛthak, bhārata!
Sañjaya berkata: “Wahai Bhārata, ketika gelombang kereta melaju dan saling menghantam dalam bentrokan-bentrokan yang terpencar, gemuruhnya kian mengerikan, berpadu dengan dentang dundubhi. Dalam pertempuran sengit antara putra-putramu dan para Pāṇḍava, suara dahsyat para kesatria yang saling membalas pukulan memenuhi angkasa.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse is primarily descriptive rather than doctrinal: it underscores the overwhelming, impersonal momentum of war—hosts in motion, scattered clashes, and a sky-filling roar. Ethically, it hints at the gravity of collective violence: once battle is unleashed, individual valor becomes part of a larger, terrifying machinery whose consequences exceed any single warrior’s intent.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the intensifying combat: chariot formations charge, collide, and fight in dispersed one-on-one or small-group engagements. The noise of impacts and counter-impacts, amplified by war-drums, becomes so fierce that it seems to pervade the heavens—signaling the full escalation of the Kaurava–Pāṇḍava battle.