Shloka 28
Arjuna’s Advance toward Bhīṣma; The Gāṇḍīva’s Signal and the Armies’ Convergence (भीष्माभिमुखगमनम् — गाण्डीवनिर्घोष-ध्वजवर्णनम्)
प्रत्युद्ययुस्ततो भीम॑ तव पुत्राश्चतुर्दश । सेनापति: सुषेणश्र जलसंध: सुलोचन:
pratyudyayus tato bhīma tava putrāś caturdaśa | senāpatiḥ suṣeṇaś ca jalasaṃdhaḥ sulocanaḥ ||
അപ്പോൾ, ഓ ഭീമാ, നിന്റെ പതിനാലു പുത്രന്മാരും സേനാപതി സുഷേണനും, ജലസന്ധനും സുലോചനനും—ഇവരെല്ലാം പ്രത്യാക്രമണത്തിനായി മുന്നേറി.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension of war: duty and allegiance can compel even relatives to take the field against one another. It implicitly points to the gravity of kṣatriya responsibility and the tragic cost of conflict when dharma is contested.
Sanjaya reports that a group—identified as Bhima’s fourteen sons, together with the commander Suṣeṇa and the warriors Jalasaṃdha and Sulocana—move out in a counter-advance, indicating an active engagement or response to an opposing force on the battlefield.