Shloka 25
आत्मदोष-उपदेशः तथा भीम-धृष्टद्युम्नयोः संयोगः
Self-Causation Counsel and the Bhīma–Dhṛṣṭadyumna Convergence
मुष्टिभिजनिुभिश्वैव तलैश्वैव विशाम्पते । अन्योन्यं जध्निरे वीरास्तावका: पाण्डवै: सह,प्रजानाथ! आपके वीर सैनिक पाण्डवोंके साथ युद्ध करते समय मुक््कों, घुटनों और तमाचोंसे एक-दूसरेपर चोट करते थे
muṣṭibhir jānubhiś caiva talaiś caiva viśāmpate | anyonyaṃ jadhnire vīrās tāvakāḥ pāṇḍavaiḥ saha ||
Sañjaya said: O lord of the people, your warriors and the Pāṇḍavas’ men, locked in close combat, struck one another with fists, knees, and open palms. The battle had tightened into hand-to-hand violence, showing how the frenzy of war can drive even kṣatriyas beyond weapons into raw bodily assault.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how war, once unleashed, escalates beyond formal rules and weapons into brutal proximity; it implicitly warns that even those acting under kṣatriya-dharma can be swept into dehumanizing violence when conflict intensifies.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Kaurava and Pāṇḍava warriors have closed ranks and are striking each other directly with fists, knees, and open palms—an image of chaotic, weaponless melee within the larger Kurukṣetra battle.