Shloka 60
शल्यस्य पाण्डवसेनापीडनम् — Śalya’s Assault on the Pāṇḍava Host
with Omens and Bhīma’s Counter
ततः प्रववृते युद्ध भीरूणां भयवर्धनम् । तावकानां परेषां च मृत्युं कृत्वा निवर्तनम्,तदनन्तर मृत्युको ही युद्धसे निवृत्तिका निमित्त बनाकर आपके और शत्रुपक्षके योद्धाओंमें घोर युद्ध आरम्भ हो गया, जो कायरोंका भय बढ़ानेवाला था
tataḥ pravavṛte yuddhaṁ bhīrūṇāṁ bhayavardhanam | tāvakānāṁ pareṣāṁ ca mṛtyuṁ kṛtvā nivartanam ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Kemudian pertempuran pun menggelora—pertempuran yang menambah ketakutan bagi yang lemah hati. Para pahlawan di kedua-dua pihak, pihak tuanku dan pihak musuh, bertarung sehingga maut sendiri menjadi sebab untuk berundur; orang hanya berpaling apabila tumbang atau dipaksa mundur oleh bahaya kematian.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the psychological reality of war: it magnifies fear in the timid, and it shows how mortality governs human resolve—combatants often persist until the threat of death forces retreat. Ethically, it frames battle as a domain where courage and duty are tested under the shadow of inevitable death.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a fierce engagement has begun. Both the Kaurava side ('yours') and the opposing side are locked in a grim fight, where withdrawal occurs only when death or mortal danger compels it.