Shloka 41
Adhyāya 74 (Book 6, Bhīṣma-parva): Bhīma–Duryodhana re-engagement and afternoon escalation
रथेषु च रथात् युद्धे संसक्तान् वरवारणा: । विकर्षन्तो दिश: सर्वा: सम्पेतु: सर्वशब्दगा:,कितने ही बड़े-बड़े गजराज रथसमूहोंमें घुसकर युद्धमें उलझे हुए रथोंको पकड़ लेते और सब प्रकारके शब्दोंका अनुसरण करते हुए सम्पूर्ण दिशाओंमें उन रथोंको खींचे फिरते थे
sañjaya uvāca |
rathēṣu ca rathāt yuddhē saṃsaktān varavāraṇāḥ |
vikarṣantō diśaḥ sarvāḥ sampētuḥ sarvaśabdagāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: In the thick of battle, many excellent war-elephants seized chariots that had become entangled among other chariots, and dragging them away in every direction—moving toward every kind of din and tumult—they caused utter confusion across the field.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily serves as battlefield reportage rather than direct moral instruction: it highlights how, once war is unleashed, even disciplined formations collapse into noise-driven chaos, illustrating the destructive momentum of violence and the fragility of order amid conflict.
Sañjaya describes war-elephants pushing into clusters of chariots, grabbing chariots that are locked in close fighting, and hauling them away in all directions, drawn by the general uproar—thereby scattering forces and intensifying confusion on the battlefield.