Shloka 2
भीमसेनस्य गदायुद्ध-प्रभावः
The Battlefield Impact of Bhīmasena’s Mace Combat
द्रोणपुत्रेण शल्येन कृपेण च महात्मना । समसज्जत पाज्चाल्यस्त्रिभिरेतैर्महारथै:
sañjaya uvāca | droṇaputreṇa śalyena kṛpeṇa ca mahātmanā | samasajjata pāñcālyas tribhir etair mahārathaiḥ ||
ಸಂಜಯನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಓ ಭಾರತ! ಪಾಂಚಾಲ ರಾಜಕುಮಾರ ಧೃಷ್ಟದ್ಯುಮ್ನನು ದ್ರೋಣಪುತ್ರ ಅಶ್ವತ್ಥಾಮ, ಶಲ್ಯ ಮತ್ತು ಮಹಾತ್ಮ ಕೃಪ—ಈ ಮೂವರು ಮಹಾರಥಿಗಳೊಂದಿಗೆ ಸಮರದಲ್ಲಿ ಮುಖಾಮುಖಿಯಾಗಿ ತೊಡಗಿದನು।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights kṣatriya-dharma in its stark form: steadfastness in one’s martial duty even under overwhelming odds. Ethically, it points to the tension between personal survival and the obligation to stand firm for one’s side and command, a recurring Mahābhārata theme where courage and duty operate within the tragic machinery of war.
Sanjaya reports that Dhṛṣṭadyumna, the Pāñcāla prince and a leading Pāṇḍava commander, takes on three eminent Kaurava-aligned mahārathas—Aśvatthāmā, Śalya, and Kṛpa—engaging them together in battle, signaling an intense and concentrated clash among top warriors.