Shloka 122

भीष्मवेगमपर्यन्तं द्रोणग्राहदुरासदम्‌ | कर्णशल्यझषावर्त काम्बोजवडवामुखम्‌,'भीष्म उसके असीम वेग हैं, द्रोणाचार्यरूपी ग्राहके होनेसे इस सैन्यसागरमें प्रवेश करना अत्यन्त दुष्कर है, कर्ण और शल्य क्रमश: मत्स्य तथा आवर्त (भँवर)-का काम करते हैं और काम्बोजराज सुदक्षिण इसमें बड़वानल हैं

bhīṣmavegam aparyantaṃ droṇagrāhadurāsadam | karṇaśalyajhaṣāvarta kāmbojavaḍavāmukham ||

サンジャヤは言った。「この軍は海のごとく、その奔流はビーマ—力に涯なき者—である。ドローナが鰐のごとく守り立つゆえ、そこへ踏み入るはきわめて難しい。カルナとシャリヤは大魚と渦潮のごとく働き、カーンボージャ王スダクシナは海底の火のごとく、内より燃えさかる。」

भीष्मवेगम्Bhishma as (its) speed/impetus
भीष्मवेगम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootभीष्म-वेग
FormMasculine, Accusative, Singular
अपर्यन्तम्endless, without limit
अपर्यन्तम्:
Karma
TypeAdjective
Rootअ-पर्यन्त
FormMasculine, Accusative, Singular
द्रोणग्राहम्Drona as (its) crocodile
द्रोणग्राहम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootद्रोण-ग्राह
FormMasculine, Accusative, Singular
दुरासदम्hard to approach/enter
दुरासदम्:
Karma
TypeAdjective
Rootदुर्-आसद
FormMasculine, Accusative, Singular
कर्णशल्यझषावर्तम्Karna and Shalya as (its) fish and whirlpool
कर्णशल्यझषावर्तम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootकर्ण-शल्य-झष-आवर्त
FormMasculine, Accusative, Singular
काम्बोजवडवामुखम्Kamboja as (its) submarine fire (vadavāmukha)
काम्बोजवडवामुखम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootकाम्बोज-वडवामुख
FormMasculine, Accusative, Singular

संजय उवाच

S
Sañjaya
B
Bhīṣma
D
Droṇa
K
Karṇa
Ś
Śalya
K
Kāmboja
S
Sudakṣiṇa
V
vaḍavānala (submarine fire)

Educational Q&A

The verse teaches strategic discernment through vivid metaphor: formidable leaders create layered dangers—direct force (Bhīṣma), guarded entry (Droṇa), internal threats and entrapment (Karṇa and Śalya), and hidden consuming peril (Sudakṣiṇa as vaḍavānala). Ethically, it underscores the gravity of war: entering such a conflict is not merely a physical act but a plunge into compounded risks that demand restraint, foresight, and responsibility.

Sañjaya is reporting and characterizing the opposing host as an ‘ocean’ of troops. He maps key Kaurava champions onto oceanic dangers to convey to the listener that confronting or penetrating this formation will be extraordinarily difficult and destructive.