Shloka 42
पज्चालानथ मत्स्यांश्व केकयांश्व प्रभद्रकान् | भीष्म: प्रहरतां श्रेष्ठ; पातयामास पत्रिभि:,योद्धाओंमें श्रेष्ठ भीष्म पांचाल, मत्स्य, केकय तथा प्रभद्रक वीरोंको अपने बाणोंसे मार-मारकर गिराने लगे
Pañcālān atha Matsyāṁś ca Kekayāṁś ca Prabhadrakān | Bhīṣmaḥ praharatāṁ śreṣṭhaḥ pātayāmāsa patribhiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Then Bhīṣma—foremost among those who strike in battle—assailed the Pañcālas, the Matsyas, the Kekayas, and the Prabhadraka warriors, felling them again and again with his arrows. The verse underscores the grim momentum of war: prowess and duty on the battlefield manifest as relentless, impersonal force, where entire allied contingents are cut down under a commander’s martial excellence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the battlefield face of kṣatriya-dharma: martial excellence applied as duty can become a sweeping, impersonal force that brings mass suffering. It invites reflection on how ‘skill’ and ‘righteous role’ in war still carry grave ethical weight and consequences.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Bhīṣma, leading the Kaurava side, attacks allied divisions of the Pāṇḍavas—Pañcālas, Matsyas, Kekayas, and Prabhadrakas—and knocks many warriors down with volleys of arrows.