Shloka 8
Adhyāya 74 (Book 6, Bhīṣma-parva): Bhīma–Duryodhana re-engagement and afternoon escalation
दिशं प्राची प्रतीचीं च न जानीमो<स्त्रमोहिता:
diśaṁ prācīṁ pratīcīṁ ca na jānīmo ’stramohitāḥ |
Sañjaya berkata: “Dikelirukan oleh pesona senjata-senjata itu, kami tidak lagi dapat membezakan timur daripada barat. Dalam kekacauan itu, para pahlawan tuanku hilang arah dan keberanian, tidak tahu ke mana harus bergerak; tunggangan mereka keletihan dan banyak kuda terbunuh. Dengan tekad batin yang hancur, mereka berhimpit sesama sendiri dan, bersama putera-putera tuanku, mencari lindungan pada Bhīṣma semata-mata—di medan itu, Bhīṣma putera Śāntanu tampak bagi mereka sebagai pelindung dan tempat berteduh yang satu-satunya.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how overwhelming violence and spectacle can shatter discernment (even basic orientation), and how, in crisis, armies instinctively seek a stabilizing protector. Ethically, it points to the battlefield reality that courage and clarity are fragile, and leadership is measured by the capacity to offer shelter and steadiness amid panic.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Kaurava side became disoriented under the impact of powerful missiles. Their troops, exhausted and demoralized, clustered together and took shelter with Bhīṣma, who seemed to them the only reliable refuge on the field.