Shloka 22
रणभूमिवर्णनम् — Devāsuropama-yuddha and the ‘River’ Metaphor of the Battlefield
विधुन्वन् कार्मुकं चित्र भारघ्नं वेगवत्तरम् । रथप्रवरमास्थाय सैन्धवाश्वंं महारथ:
vidhunvan kārmukaṃ citraṃ bhāraghnaṃ vegavattaram | rathapravaram āsthāya saindhavāśvaṃ mahārathaḥ ||
サञ्जयは言った。「大王よ、彼は奇しき弓を震わせた——重みをも打ち消すかのごとく、比類なき速さを備えた弓を。さらにシンドゥの馬に牽かれた第一の戦車に乗り、パーンドゥ族を撃たんと進み出た。この光景は戦の陰惨な勢いを示す。片や励ましと陣立て、片や将の断乎たる突進——武の力が暴虐の結末へと収斂してゆくのである。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, leadership manifests through readiness, morale, and disciplined deployment of strength; ethically, it points to the sobering reality that skill and resolve can be directed toward destructive ends, reminding readers to weigh power against dharma.
Sañjaya describes a great warrior mounting a superior chariot drawn by Sindhu-bred horses and brandishing a remarkable, swift bow, then moving to attack the Pāṇḍavas—signaling an escalation and organized offensive in the battle.