Shloka 55
Adhyāya 18 — Sequential Duels and Formation Pressure
Ulūka–Yuyutsu; Śakuni–Sutasoma; Kṛpa–Dhṛṣṭadyumna; Kṛtavarmā–Śikhaṇḍin
रथाश्वगजनादांश्व शस्त्रशब्दांश्व॒ दारुणान् । इस प्रकार किरीटधारी अर्जुनको उस युद्धभूमिका दर्शन कराते हुए श्रीकृष्णने जाते- जाते ही दुर्योधनकी सेनामें महान् कोलाहल सुना। वहाँ शंखों और दुन्दुभियोंकी ध्वनि छा रही थी। भेरी और पणव आदि बाजे बज रहे थे। रथके घोड़ों और हाथियोंके हींसने एवं विग्घाड़नेके तथा शस्त्रोंके परस्पर टकरानेके भयानक शब्द भी सुनायी पड़ते थे || ५३-५४ ई | प्रविश्य तद् बल॑ कृष्णस्तुरगैर्वातवेगितै:
rathāśvagajanādāṁś ca śastraśabdāṁś ca dāruṇān | praviśya tad balaṁ kṛṣṇas turagair vātavegitaiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: As Kṛṣṇa drove on—showing the battlefield to the diadem-wearing Arjuna—he entered Duryodhana’s host with horses swift as the wind. There he heard a vast uproar: the blare of conches and kettledrums, the booming of bhērīs and paṇavas, the neighing of chariot-horses and the trumpeting of elephants, and the harsh, terrifying clamor of weapons striking against one another—sounds that announce the gathering momentum of war and the moral gravity of the slaughter about to unfold.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral weight of war: before any argument of victory or strategy, the sheer din of armies and weapons confronts the listener with the reality of violence. It frames the coming action as a dharma-crisis where courage and duty must be weighed against the human cost.
Sañjaya describes Kṛṣṇa driving Arjuna into/through Duryodhana’s forces. As they move, they hear the overwhelming sounds of the Kaurava host—drums, conches, animals, and clashing weapons—signaling that battle is fully engaged and intensifying.