Shloka 16
भीष्मस्य अप्रतिमपराक्रमः — शिखण्डिपुरस्कृतः प्रहारः
Bhīṣma’s unmatched momentum and the assault with Śikhaṇḍin in the lead
विराटद्रुपदौ वृद्धौ समेतावरिमर्दनौ । अश्रृत्थामा ततः क्रुद्धो वारयामास भारत
virāṭa-drupadau vṛddhau sametāv ari-mardanau | aśvatthāmā tataḥ kruddho vārayāmāsa bhārata ||
Sañjaya said: The aged kings Virāṭa and Drupada—both renowned as crushers of foes—advanced together. Then Aśvatthāmā, inflamed with anger, moved to check and restrain them, O Bhārata. The verse highlights how wrath on the battlefield turns encounters into contests of force, where elders too are drawn into peril despite the ethical weight of age and status.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse implicitly contrasts valor with the moral danger of anger: even respected elders enter combat, and an enraged warrior seeks to block them—showing how wrath can override restraint and heighten the ethical stakes of warfare.
Sañjaya reports that the elderly kings Virāṭa and Drupada advance together on the battlefield, and Aśvatthāmā, angered, moves to stop/oppose them.