Shloka 43
Adhyāya 74 (Book 6, Bhīṣma-parva): Bhīma–Duryodhana re-engagement and afternoon escalation
इस प्रकार रथोंसे रथियोंको खींचनेवाले उन हाथियोंका स्वरूप ऐसा जान पड़ता था, मानो वे तालाबमें वहाँ उगे हुए कमलोंका समूह खींच रहे हों ।। एवं संछादितं तत्र बभूवायोधनं महत् | सादिभिश्न पदातैश्न सध्वजैश्न महारथै:,इस तरह सवारों, पैदलों और ध्वजोंसहित महारथियोंके शरीरोंसे वह विशाल युद्धस्थल पट गया था
evaṁ saṁchāditaṁ tatra babhūvāyodhanaṁ mahat | sādibhiś ca padātaiś ca sa-dhvajaiś ca mahārathaiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Thus the vast battlefield there became completely covered—blanketed by the bodies and press of great chariot-warriors with their banners, along with the mounted troops and the foot-soldiers. The scene conveys the overwhelming density of war, where valor and insignia alike are swallowed by the sheer mass of combatants, foreshadowing the moral weight and human cost that the conflict inevitably exacts.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the immensity and engulfing nature of war: individual identity—champions, banners, and ranks—becomes submerged in collective violence, inviting reflection on the grave ethical burden that accompanies kṣatriya warfare.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield as densely filled and covered by great chariot-warriors with their standards, along with mounted troops and infantry—an image of the armies converging and the combat zone becoming packed with fighters.