Shloka 26

Bhīṣma-parva Adhyāya 16 — Saṃjaya’s Boon, Bhīṣma’s Protection, and the Dawn Arraying of Armies

Devanagari script

उन्मत्तमकरावर्तो महाग्राहसमाकुलौ

Transliteration

unmattamakarāvarto mahāgrāhasamākulau

Translation

उन्मत्तमकरावर्तो महाग्राहसमाकुलः ।

Word by Word

• उन्मत्तमकरावर्तः: a whirlpool of maddened crocodiles
• उन्मत्तमकरावर्तः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: उन्मत्त-मकर-आवर्त
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• महाग्राहसमाकुलौ: both filled with great alligators
• महाग्राहसमाकुलौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महाग्राह-समाकुल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses a stark simile to convey that war becomes a self-sustaining vortex of danger: once entered, it seizes and overwhelms. Ethically, it underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring warning that violence, even when framed by duty, carries chaotic consequences that can engulf all sides.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is describing the scene of battle to Dhṛtarāṣṭra. He characterizes the battlefield as a terrifying, churning whirlpool filled with predatory creatures, intensifying the sense of imminent peril and the ferocity of the combat.