Shloka 16
भीष्मरथाभिमुख्यं — Arjuna’s advance with Śikhaṇḍin; Duḥśāsana’s interception
तत्रासीत् सुमहद् युद्ध तव तेषां च संकुलम् | नराश्वरथनागानां यमराष्ट्रविवर्धनम्,तब वहाँ उन सबके पैदल, घुड़सवार, रथी और हाथीसवारोंमें अत्यन्त भयंकर घमासान युद्ध होने लगा, जो यमराजके राष्ट्रकी वृद्धि करनेवाला था
tatrāsīt sumahad yuddhaṁ tava teṣāṁ ca saṅkulam | narāśvarathanāgānāṁ yamarāṣṭravivardhanam ||
Sañjaya said: There arose there a very great and confused melee of battle between your forces and theirs—of foot-soldiers, horsemen, charioteers, and elephant-warriors—one that swelled the realm of Yama, for it sent multitudes to death. The line underscores the moral cost of war: when dharma collapses into slaughter, the only kingdom that surely grows is the lord of death’s.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical gravity of war: when battle becomes a chaotic slaughter, it chiefly benefits Yama’s realm—death increases. It implicitly warns that victory pursued through indiscriminate violence carries a moral and human cost that eclipses worldly gains.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a massive, confused melee has erupted between the Kaurava and Pāṇḍava forces, involving all four arms of the army—infantry, cavalry, chariots, and elephants—so deadly that it is said to ‘increase Yama’s kingdom’ by sending many warriors to their deaths.