Shloka 26
भीष्मस्य मण्डलव्यूहः — Bhīṣma’s Maṇḍala Battle-Formation and the Opening Engagements
ते हता न््यपतन् राजन् वज्रभग्ना इव द्रुमा: । तान् दृष्टवा निहतान् वीरो रणे पुत्रान् महाबलान्
te hatā nyapatan rājan vajrabhagnā iva drumāḥ | tān dṛṣṭvā nihatān vīro raṇe putrān mahābalān ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, once struck down, they fell—like trees shattered by a thunderbolt. Seeing those mighty sons lying slain upon the battlefield, the hero beheld the ruin wrought by war, where strength and lineage alike are brought low.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the fragility of human power and lineage in war: even the mighty fall suddenly, like trees split by a thunderbolt. It implicitly warns that martial glory is inseparable from irreversible loss, inviting reflection on the ethical cost of conflict.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that warriors have been slain and are collapsing on the battlefield. A hero (unnamed in this verse) sees his powerful sons lying dead in combat, marking a moment of shock and grief amid the ongoing battle.