Shloka 20
अध्याय २२ — अमर्याद-युद्धवर्णन
Unrestrained Battle Description and Śakuni’s Rear Assault
भीमसेन रणे क्रुद्धो द्रोणपुत्रो न्यवारयत्,महाराज! रणक्षेत्रमें कुपित हुए द्रोणपुत्र अश्वत्थामाने सम्पूर्ण दिशाओंमें छोड़े गये अनेक प्रकारके बाणोंद्वारा भीमसेनको आगे बढ़नेसे रोक दिया। उस समय संग्राममें न तो वीरोंकी पहचान होती थी और न दिशाओंकी, फिर अवान्तर-दिशाओं (कोणों)-की तो बात ही क्या है?
sañjaya uvāca |
bhīmasenaḥ raṇe kruddho droṇaputraḥ nyavārayat |
mahārāja! raṇakṣetre kupito droṇaputra aśvatthāmā samantato diśāsu kṣiptaiḥ nānāvidhaiḥ bāṇaiḥ bhīmasenaṃ prāgabhimukhaṃ gantum avārayat |
tasmin samaye saṅgrāme na vīrāṇāṃ parijñānaṃ āsīt na diśāṃ ca, avāntara-diśāṃ (koṇānāṃ) tu kuta eva ||
Sañjaya disse: Ó rei, na batalha Bhimasena, inflamado de ira, foi detido. No campo, Ashvatthama, filho de Drona, também enfurecido, impediu Bhima de avançar ao disparar muitos tipos de flechas em todas as direções. Naquele momento, no tumulto da guerra, não se distinguiam claramente nem os guerreiros nem os rumos—quanto menos as direções intermediárias.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral and practical peril of uncontrolled wrath and the fog of war: in violent turmoil, clarity of perception collapses—identity and direction become uncertain—so actions taken in anger can easily become indiscriminate and ethically hazardous.
Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra that Bhima, charging forward in anger, is halted by Ashvatthama, who showers him with many kinds of arrows from all sides. The fighting is so confused that neither warriors nor directions can be properly distinguished.