Shloka 263
Bhīṣma-parva Adhyāya 16 — Saṃjaya’s Boon, Bhīṣma’s Protection, and the Dawn Arraying of Armies
चुगान्ते समवेतौ द्वौ दृश्येते सागराविव । वे दोनों सेनाएँ प्रलयकालमें एक-दूसरेसे मिलनेवाले उन दो समुद्रोंके समान दृष्टिगोचर हो रही थीं, जिनमें मतवाले मगर और भँवरें होती हैं तथा जिनमें बड़े-बड़े ग्राह सब ओर फैले रहते हैं
cugānte samavetau dvau dṛśyete sāgarāv iva |
सञ्जय उवाच—अह्नः पर्यन्ते समवेतौ तौ सेनासमुदायौ प्रलयकाले परस्परं सङ्गच्छन्ताविव द्वौ सागराविव दृश्येते स्म, आवर्तैर्मकरैश्च भीषणैः सर्वतः परिपूर्णाविव।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses an apocalyptic ocean-simile to underline the ethical gravity of war: once vast forces converge, violence can become like a natural catastrophe—hard to restrain, sweeping up the innocent and the guilty alike—thereby warning that adharma-driven conflict tends toward collective ruin.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that, as the day ends, the opposing forces have drawn together and stand confronting one another; their mass and agitation are compared to two oceans about to collide, foreshadowing the intensity of the next phase of battle.