Shloka 65
गौरुडव्यूह-रचना तथा अर्धचन्द्र-प्रत्यव्यूह
Garuḍa Array and the Ardhacandra Counter-Formation
शस्त्रवृष्टिं सुतुमुलां श्वेतस्पोपर्यपातयन् । भारत! बाह्लीक, कृतवर्मा, शल, शल्य, जलसंध, विकर्ण, चित्रसेन और विविंशति--इन सबने शीघ्रताके अवसरपर शीघ्रता करते हुए चारों ओरसे भीष्मजीको घेर लिया और श्वेतके ऊपर भयंकर शस्त्र-वर्षा करने लगे ।। ६३-६४ ह ।। तान् क्रुद्धों निशितैर्बाणैस्त्वरमाणो महारथ:
śastravṛṣṭiṃ sutumulāṃ śvetasyo paryapātayan | bhārata! bāhlīkaḥ kṛtavarmā śalaḥ śalyaḥ jalasaṃdhaḥ vikarṇaḥ citrasenaḥ vivimśatiś ca—ete sarve kṣipratāyāṃ kṣipratāṃ kurvāṇaś caturdiśaṃ bhīṣmaṃ paryavārayanta, śvete ca bhīṣaṇāṃ śastravṛṣṭim avarṣayan ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Wahai Bhārata, Bāhlīka, Kṛtavarmā, Śala, Śalya, Jalasandha, Vikarṇa, Citrasena dan Viviṃśati—merebut saat dengan gerak seiring yang pantas—mengepung Bhīṣma dari setiap penjuru lalu melepaskan hujan senjata yang menggerunkan ke atas Śveta.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how, in war, coordinated speed and numbers can overwhelm even great warriors—raising an ethical tension central to the Mahābhārata: kṣatriya prowess and strategy operate within dharma, yet the spectacle of massed violence also underscores the human cost and the peril of letting victory become the only measure.
Sañjaya reports that several Kaurava-aligned warriors rapidly converge from all directions, encircling Bhīṣma and directing a fierce barrage of weapons at Śveta, intensifying the battle around Bhīṣma’s position.