Shloka 14
Vāsudeva-Māhātmya: Duryodhana’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Theological Account of Keśava
नदृष्ट न श्रुतं वापि युद्धमेतादृशं नृप । यथा तव सुतानां च पाण्डवानां च भारत,भारत! नरेश्वर! पाण्डवों और आपके पुत्रोंका उस दिन जैसा भयानक युद्ध हुआ, वैसा न कभी देखा गया है और न सुना ही गया है
sañjaya uvāca |
na dṛṣṭaṃ na śrutaṃ vāpi yuddham etādṛśaṃ nṛpa |
yathā tava sutānāṃ ca pāṇḍavānāṃ ca bhārata ||
Sanjaya said: O king, never before has such a battle been seen or even heard of—such as the one that took place between your sons and the Pandavas, O Bharata. The conflict has surpassed all precedent, revealing the terrible cost of kin-strife and the moral weight borne by rulers who allow it to unfold.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the unprecedented and catastrophic nature of a war fought among kin, implicitly warning that when rulers fail to restrain adharma and allow familial rivalry to escalate, the resulting violence becomes morally and historically exceptional in its horror.
Sanjaya reports to King Dhritarashtra that the battle between the Kauravas (the king’s sons) and the Pandavas has reached an intensity and terror beyond anything previously seen or heard, emphasizing the extraordinary scale of the conflict.