Shloka 21
विराटद्रुपदौ चोभौ राक्षसश्न घटोत्कच: । अभिमन्युश्च संक्रुद्ध: सप्तैते क्रोधमूर्च्छिता:,अताडयन् रणे भीष्मं सहिता: सर्वसृञज्जया: । समस्त सूंजय वीर एक साथ संगठित हो भयंकर शतघ्नी, परिघ, फरसे, मुद्गर, मुसल, प्रास, गोफन, स्वर्णमय पंखवाले बाण, शक्ति, तोमर, कम्पन, नाराच, वत्सदन््त और भुशुण्डी आदि अस्त्र-शस्त्रोंद्वारा रणभूमिमें भीष्मको सब ओरसे पीड़ा देने लगे
sañjaya uvāca |
virāṭa-drupadau cobhau rākṣasaś ca ghaṭotkacaḥ |
abhimanyuś ca saṅkruddhaḥ saptaite krodha-mūrcchitāḥ |
atāḍayan raṇe bhīṣmaṃ sahitāḥ sarva-sṛñjayāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Virāṭa and Drupada, and the rākṣasa Ghaṭotkaca, and Abhimanyu—enraged—these seven, overcome by a surge of wrath, together with all the Sṛñjayas, struck Bhīṣma in battle. United as one, they assailed him from every side with fearsome weapons, seeking to break the grandsire’s advance and protect their own cause amid the harsh demands of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral tension of war: even righteous allies may be driven by anger, yet they must act in disciplined unity to protect their side. It implicitly contrasts uncontrolled wrath with purposeful, coordinated effort under kṣatriya-dharma.
Sañjaya describes a concentrated assault on Bhīṣma: Virāṭa, Drupada, Ghaṭotkaca, Abhimanyu and other allied Sṛñjaya warriors, inflamed with anger, strike Bhīṣma together from all sides in the thick of battle.