Shloka 67
शल्यस्य पाण्डवसेनापीडनम् — Śalya’s Assault on the Pāṇḍava Host
with Omens and Bhīma’s Counter
ते सेने भृशसंतप्ते वध्यमाने परस्परम्
te sene bhṛśa-santapte vadhyamāne parasparam
Sañjaya berkata: Ketika kedua-dua bala tentera itu, yang amat tersiksa, saling membunuh dalam pembantaian timbal balik, medan perang menjadi pemandangan derita yang dahsyat dan keganasan yang saling membalas tanpa henti—setiap pihak sekaligus pelaku dan mangsa dalam putaran perang yang sama.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical tragedy of war: violence becomes reciprocal and self-perpetuating, producing shared suffering. It implicitly warns that when conflict escalates into mutual killing, distinctions of victory and loss blur under the weight of collective anguish.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield condition: both armies are intensely distressed and are killing each other in close, mutual combat. The line functions as a narrative bridge emphasizing the ferocity and pain of the ongoing engagement.