Shloka 2
कुरवश्च कथं युद्धे पाण्डवान् प्रत्यवारयन् । आचक्ष्व मे महायुद्ध भीष्मस्याहवशोभिन:,धृतराष्ट्रने पूछा--संजय! दसवें दिन महापराक्रमी शान्तनुकुमार भीष्मने पाण्डवों तथा सूंजयोंके साथ किस प्रकार युद्ध किया तथा कैरवोंने पाण्डवोंको युद्धमें किस प्रकार रोका? रणक्षेत्रमें शोभा पानेवाले भीष्मके उस महायुद्धका वृत्तान्त मुझसे कहो
sañjaya uvāca | kuravaś ca kathaṃ yuddhe pāṇḍavān pratyavārayan | ācakṣva me mahāyuddhe bhīṣmasyāhavaśobhinaḥ ||
Sanjaya said: “Tell me how, in the battle, the Kurus held back the Pandavas. Describe to me that great combat of Bhishma—splendid in the clash of arms—(as it unfolded on the tenth day).”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames war-reporting as a moral and strategic inquiry: the listener seeks not mere violence, but an account of how force is organized and checked under a commander like Bhishma—raising questions of duty (kshatriya-dharma), restraint, and responsibility in conflict.
Sanjaya begins responding to Dhritarashtra’s request for a detailed report of the tenth day’s fighting, specifically asking how the Kuru forces managed to hold back the Pandavas and inviting a description of Bhishma’s resplendent, large-scale engagement.