Shloka 22

Devanagari script

अथात्मजास्ते सहिताभिपेतु- रन्ये च योधास्त्वरितास्त्वदीया: । कृत्वा मुखं भारत योधमुख्यं दुःशासन त्वत्सुतमाजमीढ,उस समय गोदुग्ध, कुन्दकुसुम, चन्द्रमा तथा हिमके समान कान्तिवाले सिंधुदेशीय सुशिक्षित सुन्दर घोड़े, जो सोनेकी जालीसे आवृत थे, पुरुषसिंह सात्यकि जहाँ-जहाँ जाना चाहते, वहाँ-वहाँ उन्हें ले जाते थे। अजमीढवंशी भरतनन्दन! इस प्रकार जैसे वायु मेघोंकी घटाको छित्न-भिन्न करती रहती है, वैसे ही बारंबार बाणोंद्वारा कौरव-सेनाओंका संहार करते और शत्रुओंके बीचमें विचरते हुए वृष्णिवीर सात्यकिको वहाँ आया हुआ देख योद्धाओंमें प्रधान आपके पुत्र दुःशासनको अगुआ बनाकर आपके बहुत-से पुत्र तथा आपके पक्षके अन्य योद्धा भी शीघ्रतापूर्वक एक साथ ही उनपर टूट पड़े

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

athātmajās te sahitābhipetur anye ca yodhās tvaritās tvadīyāḥ |

kṛtvā mukhaṃ bhārata yodhamukhyaṃ duḥśāsanaṃ tvatsutam ājamīḍa ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Then your sons, together with other warriors of your side, rushed forward in haste. O Bhārata, O descendant of Ajamīḍha, making your son Duḥśāsana—the foremost among fighters—their vanguard, they fell upon him as a united force. The scene underscores how, in the press of war, kinship loyalty and factional duty drive men to collective assault, even as the battle’s moral weight deepens through relentless violence.

Word by Word

अथthen

आत्मजाःsons

तेthose (they)

सहिताtogether, united

अभिपेतुःrushed upon, attacked

अन्येothers

चand

योधाःwarriors

त्वरिताःhastened, swift

त्वदीयाःyour (men), belonging to you

कृत्वाhaving made

मुखम्front, leader-position

भारतO Bharata

योधमुख्यम्the chief of warriors

दुःशासनO Duḥśāsana

त्वत्सुतम्your son

अजमीढO Ajamiḍha-descendant (epithet)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied addressee: Bhārata, Ājamīḍa)

Duḥśāsana

Kaurava warriors (your sons; your side’s fighters)

Ajamīḍha (ancestral figure, as epithet)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how wartime dharma often manifests as loyalty to one’s side and obedience to martial leadership; yet it also implicitly points to the ethical burden of coordinated aggression, where group duty can intensify harm.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons and other Kaurava fighters quickly charge together, placing Duḥśāsana at the front as their leading warrior, and collectively attack the opposing hero (contextually, Sātyaki in the surrounding passage).