Shloka 1
Bhīṣma-parva Adhyāya 16 — Saṃjaya’s Boon, Bhīṣma’s Protection, and the Dawn Arraying of Armies
भीकम (2 अमान षोडशो< ध्याय: दुर्योधनकी सेनाका वर्णन संजय उवाच ततो रजन्यां व्युष्टायां शब्द: समभवन्महान् | क्रोशतां भूमिपालानां युज्यतां युज्यतामिति,संजय कहते हैं--राजन्! तदनन्तर रात्रिके अन्तमें सबेरा होते ही “रथ जोतो, युद्धके लिये तैयार हो जाओ।” इस प्रकार जोर-जोरसे बोलनेवाले राजाओंका महान् कोलाहल सब ओर छा गया
sañjaya uvāca | tato rajanyāṁ vyuṣṭāyāṁ śabdaḥ samabhavan mahān | krośatāṁ bhūmipālānāṁ yujyatāṁ yujyatām iti ||
Sañjaya said: Then, when the night had ended and dawn broke, a great uproar arose on every side—kings shouting loudly, “Harness the chariots! Make ready, make ready for battle!” The day’s violence is foreshadowed by this collective cry, as rulers and warriors willingly step into the machinery of war, driven by duty, ambition, and allegiance.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war begins not only with weapons but with collective intention and mobilization. It implicitly raises an ethical tension: rulers (bhūmipāla) who should protect the earth now prepare to devastate it, showing how duty, ambition, and allegiance can propel society toward violence.
At daybreak, a loud commotion spreads through the camp as kings and warriors shout orders to harness the chariots and get ready for battle. Sañjaya reports this to the king (Dhṛtarāṣṭra), marking the transition from night to the active commencement of the day’s fighting.