Adhyāya 78 — Bhīṣma’s Advance, Duryodhana’s Rally, and Concurrent Duels (भीष्मस्याभ्युद्यमः, दुर्योधनस्योत्साहवचनम्, विविधयुद्धवर्णनम्)
अभि्येतां ततो व्यूहौ तस्मिन् वीरवरक्षये । आसीद् व्यतिकरो घोरस्तव तेषां च भारत,भारत! बड़े-बड़े वीरोंका संहार करनेवाले उस युद्धमें दोनों सेनाओंके व्यूह टूट गये और आपके तथा पाण्डवोंके सैनिकोंका भयंकर सम्मिश्रण हो गया
abhiyetāṁ tato vyūhau tasmin vīravarakṣaye | āsīd vyatikaro ghoras tava teṣāṁ ca bhārata ||
मग त्या वीरक्षयकारी संग्रामात दोन्ही सैन्यांचे व्यूह भंग पावले; आणि हे भारत! तुमच्या व त्यांच्या सैन्याचा भयंकर संमिश्र संग्राम झाला।
संजय उवाच
The verse highlights how, once disciplined structures (vyūhas) collapse, war devolves into indiscriminate confusion (vyatikara), intensifying destruction. Ethically, it underscores the tragic momentum of violence: even strategic order cannot prevent the ruin of great warriors once conflict is fully unleashed.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that during a fierce phase of the Kurukṣetra battle, both sides’ battle-arrays were assailed and broken. As a result, Kaurava and Pāṇḍava soldiers became dangerously intermingled in close combat, producing a terrifying, chaotic melee.