Shloka 35
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
abhiyetāṁ tato vyūhau tasmin vīravarakṣaye | āsīd vyatikaro ghoras tava teṣāṁ ca bhārata ||
Sañjaya berkata: Kemudian, dalam pertempuran yang memusnahkan para wira terunggul itu, kedua-dua formasi perang pun pecah. Lalu terjadilah percampuran yang menggerunkan antara pasukan tuanku dan pasukan mereka, wahai Bhārata.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
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.