Shloka 60
शल्यस्य पाण्डवसेनापीडनम् — Śalya’s Assault on the Pāṇḍava Host
with Omens and Bhīma’s Counter
ततः प्रववृते युद्ध भीरूणां भयवर्धनम् । तावकानां परेषां च मृत्युं कृत्वा निवर्तनम्
tataḥ pravavṛte yuddhaṁ bhīrūṇāṁ bhayavardhanam | tāvakānāṁ pareṣāṁ ca mṛtyuṁ kṛtvā nivartanam ||
Lalu meletuslah pertempuran dahsyat yang menambah gentar hati para pengecut. Prajurit di kedua pihak—pihakmu dan pihak lawan—bertarung sedemikian rupa sehingga mautlah yang menjadi alasan untuk mundur; orang hanya berpaling ketika tewas atau dipaksa surut oleh bahaya yang mematikan.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the psychological reality of war: it magnifies fear in the timid, and it shows how mortality governs human resolve—combatants often persist until the threat of death forces retreat. Ethically, it frames battle as a domain where courage and duty are tested under the shadow of inevitable death.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a fierce engagement has begun. Both the Kaurava side ('yours') and the opposing side are locked in a grim fight, where withdrawal occurs only when death or mortal danger compels it.