Shloka 23
भीमसेनस्य बहुमहारथसंयुगः
Bhīmasena’s Engagement with Multiple Mahārathas
गदाभिभिंन्दिपालैश्न निशितैश्व शिलीमुखै: । अनुकर्षैरुपासड्ड श्षक्रैर्भग्नैश्ष मारिष
gadābhir bhindipālaiś ca niśitaiś ca śilīmukhaiḥ | anukarṣair upāsadya śastrair bhagnaiś ca māriṣa ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Wahai yang mulia, mereka merapat kepadanya, menghentam dengan gada, bhindipāla dan anak panah yang tajam; mereka menekan serangan dengan cangkuk penarik dan senjata lain, bahkan dengan senjata yang sudah pecah—begitu garangnya pertembungan itu.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the brutal immediacy of war: when combatants abandon restraint, weapons and bodies alike are broken. Implicitly it highlights the ethical weight of kṣatriya conflict—valor and duty unfold amid suffering and destruction.
Sañjaya describes a close-quarters assault in which fighters rush in and strike with multiple weapons—maces, heavy darts, and sharp arrows—pressing the opponent hard, with weapons breaking in the intensity of the fight.