Shloka 3
भीमसेन–अलायुधयुद्धम् / Bhīmasena and Alāyudha: Night Engagement and Command Responses
दृष्टवा तत्कदनं घोरं स्वबलस्य कृतं महत् । जिष्णुना भीमसेनेन सात्वतेन च संयुगे
dṛṣṭvā tat-kadanaṃ ghoraṃ sva-balasya kṛtaṃ mahat | jiṣṇunā bhīmasenena sātvatena ca saṃyuge ||
Sañjaya said: Seeing that dreadful and massive slaughter of his own forces, wrought in battle by Jiṣṇu (Arjuna), by Bhīmasena, and by the Sātvata (Kṛṣṇa), the king was shaken by the moral weight of war’s ruin—where prowess and strategy turn into a fearful harvest of lives.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical gravity of war: even when fought by renowned heroes, battle results in ghora (dreadful) destruction. It invites reflection on the cost of kṣatriya conflict—victory is inseparable from suffering and the ruin of one’s own people.
Sañjaya reports that the king (Dhṛtarāṣṭra, implied) beholds the vast slaughter of his own forces on the battlefield, caused by Arjuna (Jiṣṇu), Bhīma, and Kṛṣṇa (Sātvata) in the course of the fighting.