Shloka 12
तेषु सर्वेष्वनीकेषु व्यतिषक्तेष्वनेकश: । स्वे स्वाञ्जघ्नुः परे स्वांश्व स्वान् परेषां परे परान्,उन सभी सेनाओंमें बारंबार मुठभेड़ होती थी और उसमें अपने ही पक्षके लोग अपने ही पक्षवालोंको मार डालते थे। शत्रुपक्षेके लोग भी अपने पक्षके लोगोंको मारते थे। शत्रुपक्षके जो स्वजन थे उनको तथा शत्रुओंको भी शत्रुपक्षके योद्धा मार डालते थे
teṣu sarveṣv anīkeṣu vyatiṣakteṣv anekaśaḥ | sve svāñ jaghnuḥ pare svāṃś ca svān pareṣāṃ pare parān ||
Sañjaya said: As all those battle-formations became repeatedly entangled in close combat, confusion spread through the ranks. Men struck down their own side, and the opposing warriors too struck down their own. In that chaos, fighters even killed their own kinsmen among the enemy, and enemies as well—showing how war, when it turns into a mêlée, can eclipse discernment and dharma alike.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, when battle devolves into chaotic close combat, discrimination (viveka) collapses and dharma is obscured—leading even to the killing of one’s own and of kin. It serves as an ethical warning about war’s power to erode moral clarity.
Sañjaya describes a general mêlée: the formations interpenetrate repeatedly, and in the resulting confusion warriors mistakenly or recklessly kill comrades, while the opposing side also suffers similar internal killing; even kinsmen on the enemy side are slain amid the disorder.