Shloka 9
कौरवा: सिंहनादेन नानावाद्यस्वनेन च । रथद्विपनरांश्वैव सर्वत:ः समवारयन्,संजयने कहा--महाराज! कौरवोंने देखा कि पांचाल, पाण्डव, मत्स्य, सूंजय, चेदि और केकय-देशीय योद्धा युद्धमें द्रोणाचार्यके बाणोंसे पीड़ित हो विचलित हो उठे हैं तथा जैसे समुद्रकी महान् जलराशि बहुत-से नावोंको बहा ले जाती है, उसी प्रकार द्रोणाचार्यके धनुषसे छूटकर शीघ्र ही प्राण हर लेनेवाले बाण-समुदायने पाण्डव-सैनिकोंको मार भगाया है। तब वे सिंहनाद एवं नाना प्रकारके रण-वाद्योंका गम्भीर घोष करते हुए शत्रुओंके रथारोहियों, हाथीसवारों तथा पैदल सैनिकोंको सब ओरसे रोकने लगे
sañjaya uvāca | kauravāḥ siṃhanādena nānāvādyasvanena ca | rathadvipanara-aśvaiḥ sarvataḥ samavārayan |
Sañjaya said: The Kauravas, raising lion-like battle-cries and the deep clamour of many kinds of war-instruments, pressed in from every side—using chariots, elephants, infantry, and horses—to hem in the enemy. In the ethical atmosphere of the epic, the verse highlights how collective morale and coordinated force are used to exploit an opponent’s momentary disarray, turning fear and confusion into tactical advantage on the battlefield.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores a recurring Mahābhārata insight: in war, psychological force (battle-cries, instruments, displays of confidence) and disciplined coordination can decide outcomes as much as weapons. Ethically, it reflects the kṣatriya-world where exploiting an opening is treated as legitimate battlefield conduct, even while the epic elsewhere questions the human cost of such escalation.
Sañjaya reports that the Kaurava forces, emboldened and noisy with cries and instruments, advance in a combined-arms formation—chariots, elephants, cavalry, and infantry—to block and encircle the opposing troops from all directions.