Shloka 20
पश्यतो भीमसेनस्य विजयस्याच्युतस्य च । यमयोर्धर्मपुत्रस्य पार्षतस्य च पश्यत:,महामना द्रोणाचार्यसे इस प्रकार पीड़ित हुई वह पाण्डव-सेना उस रातके समय सहसरों मशालें फेंक-फेंककर भीमसेन, अर्जुन, श्रीकृष्ण, नकुल, सहदेव, धर्मपुत्र युधिष्ठिर और धृष्टद्युम्नके सामने ही उनके देखते-देखते भाग रही थी
sañjaya uvāca | paśyato bhīmasenasya vijayasyācyutasya ca | yamayor dharmaputrasya pārṣatasya ca paśyataḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Even as Bhīmasena looked on, and as Arjuna (the ever-victorious), Kṛṣṇa (Acyuta), the twin brothers Nakula and Sahadeva, Dharmaputra Yudhiṣṭhira, and Dhṛṣṭadyumna (son of Pṛṣata) watched, the Pāṇḍava army—harried and tormented by the great-souled Droṇācārya—fled through the night, casting thousands of torches as it ran. The scene underscores how, in war, even a righteous host can be driven into disorder by superior strategy and force, while its leaders remain witnesses to the suffering of their own ranks.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical burden of leadership in war: even when commanders are present, the common soldiers may suffer panic and collapse under overwhelming pressure. It implicitly contrasts ideals of dharma and order with the harsh realities of battlefield fear and the consequences of superior martial power.
Sañjaya describes the Pāṇḍava forces being severely pressed by Droṇa. In the night, the army breaks and flees, throwing many torches, while major Pāṇḍava leaders—Bhīma, Arjuna, Kṛṣṇa, the twins, Yudhiṣṭhira, and Dhṛṣṭadyumna—look on.