Shloka 23
भीष्मशिबिरगमनम् — Duryodhana’s Visit to Bhīṣma’s Camp and the Command Appeal
तस्मिंस्तथा वर्तमाने संकुले तुमुले भूशम् । उभयोरपि संशान्ता हयसड्घा: समन्तत:ः,इस प्रकार अत्यन्त भयानक घमासान युद्ध छिड़ जानेपर दोनों पक्षोंके अश्वसमूह चारों ओर नष्ट हो गये
tasmiṁs tathā vartamāne saṅkule tumule bhūśam | ubhayor api saṁśāntā haya-saṅghāḥ samantataḥ ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Ketika pertempuran berlangsung demikian—padat, hiruk-pikuk, dan amat ganas—kumpulan kuda di kedua-dua pihak pun ditundukkan sama sekali, binasa bergelimpangan di sekeliling.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the indiscriminate destructiveness of war: when conflict turns chaotic and uncontrolled, it consumes not only warriors but also helpless beings like horses, revealing the moral cost and collateral suffering inherent in violent ambition.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield as the fighting becomes extremely fierce and confused; amid this uproar, the horse contingents belonging to both sides are wiped out all around.