Shloka 12
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Anxiety and Bhīṣma’s Theological Explanation of Pāṇḍava Invincibility
Book 6, Chapter 61
रथी रथिनमासाद्य शरै: कनकभूषणै: । पातयामास समरे तस्मिन्नति भयड्करे,वह संग्राम अत्यन्त भयानक हो रहा था। उसमें रथी रथियोंके सामने जाकर उन्हें स्वर्णभूषित बाणोंसे मार गिराते थे
rathī rathinam āsādya śaraiḥ kanakabhūṣaṇaiḥ | pātayāmāsa samare tasminn ati bhayaṅkare ||
ਉਸ ਅਤਿ ਭਿਆਨਕ ਸਮਰ ਵਿੱਚ ਰਥੀ ਵਿਰੋਧੀ ਰਥੀਆਂ ਦੇ ਨੇੜੇ ਜਾ ਕੇ ਸੋਨੇ ਨਾਲ ਸਜੇ ਤੀਰਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਡਾਹ ਦਿੰਦੇ ਸਨ।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the grim reality of war: even the foremost warriors confront and destroy their peers. It implicitly points to the ethical gravity of kṣatriya warfare—valor and skill operate within a terrifying arena where life is taken, reminding the listener that martial glory is inseparable from suffering and moral burden.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield as extremely dreadful. Chariot-warriors advance directly against other chariot-warriors and bring them down using gold-adorned arrows, emphasizing close engagement among elite fighters and the intense, fearsome nature of the combat.