Shloka 1
भीष्मस्य मध्याह्नयुद्धवर्णनम् / Mid-day Battle Description: Bhīṣma Engaged by the Pāñcālas
संजय कहते हैं--राजन्! अपने पुत्र इरावानके वधका वृत्तान्त सुनकर अर्जुनको बड़ा दुःख हुआ। वे सर्पके समान लंबी साँस खींचने लगे
sañjaya uvāca—rājan! sva-putra irāvāṇasya vadhavṛttāntaṃ śrutvā arjunasyātīva duḥkham abhavat. sa sarpa iva dīrghaṃ niḥśvāsaṃ kartum ārabdhavān.
Sanjaya said: O King, when Arjuna heard the account of the slaying of his own son Iravan, he was overwhelmed with grief. Like a serpent, he began to draw long, heavy breaths—his sorrow breaking through the warrior’s composure amid the moral weight of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in a dharma-yuddha, personal loss pierces the warrior’s discipline; the verse highlights the human cost of war and the ethical tension between public duty and private grief.
Sanjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Arjuna, upon hearing the detailed news of his son Iravan’s death, is struck with intense sorrow and begins to breathe in long, heavy sighs.