Shloka 5
महाव्यूहप्रवर्तनम् / Deployment of the Great Battle Arrays
सम्मोहा सर्वान् युधि कीर्तिमन्तो व्यूहं चत॑ मकरं वज़कल्पम् | प्रविश्य भीमेन रणे हतो5स्मि घोरै: शरैर्मुत्युदण्डप्रकाशै:,वे युद्धमें सबको मोहित करके अपनी कीर्तिका विस्तार करते हैं। देखिये न, भीमसेनने वज्रके समान दुर्भेद्य मकर-व्यूहमें प्रवेश करके मृत्युदण्डके समान भयंकर बाणोंद्वारा मुझे युद्धस्थलमें क्षत-विक्षत कर दिया है
saṃmohāt sarvān yudhi kīrtimanto vyūhaṃ ca taṃ makaraṃ vajrakalpam | praviśya bhīmena raṇe hato 'smi ghoraiḥ śaraiḥ mṛtyudaṇḍaprakāśaiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “After bewildering everyone on the battlefield, those famed warriors spread their renown. Look—Bhīma has forced his way into that makara-shaped battle-formation, hard to break like a thunderbolt, and there in the fight I have been struck down, torn by dreadful arrows that gleam like the rod of Death. The scene shows how, amid the moral chaos of war, fame and tactical brilliance can coexist with terrifying destruction.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the paradox of war: tactical mastery and the pursuit of fame can generate mass confusion (saṃmoha) and culminate in death-dealing violence. It implicitly warns that renown gained in battle is inseparable from suffering and mortality, urging ethical reflection on the costs of martial glory.
Sañjaya describes a moment in the Kurukṣetra war where renowned fighters create battlefield confusion and deploy a formidable makara-shaped formation. Bhīma breaks into this supposedly impenetrable array and, amid the clash, the speaker says he is struck down by terrifying arrows likened to Death’s rod.