Shloka 331
दुःशासन रथास्तूर्ण युज्यन्तां भीष्मरक्षिण: । द्वाविंशतिमनीकानि सर्वाण्येवाभिचोदय
sañjaya uvāca | duḥśāsana rathās tūrṇaṁ yujyantāṁ bhīṣmarakṣiṇaḥ | dvāviṁśatim anīkāni sarvāṇy evābhicodaya ||
Sañjaya said: “Let the chariots of Duḥśāsana be yoked at once, under the protection of Bhīṣma. Rouse and set in motion all the twenty-two divisions of the army.” In the moral atmosphere of the epic, the line conveys the Kaurava side’s urgent mobilization and reliance on Bhīṣma’s guardianship, pressing the machinery of war forward through command and coercive resolve rather than restraint.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war accelerates through urgent commands and dependence on powerful protectors; ethically, it underscores the epic’s recurring tension between kṣatriya duty to fight and the peril of being driven by haste, incitement, and attachment to victory.
Sañjaya reports a Kaurava order: Duḥśāsana’s chariots are to be readied immediately under Bhīṣma’s protection, and all twenty-two troop-divisions are to be stirred up and deployed for battle.