Shloka 23
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Anxiety and Bhīṣma’s Theological Explanation of Pāṇḍava Invincibility
Book 6, Chapter 61
एत्तिसड्घा हयारोहै: सादिसड्घाश्न पत्तिभि: । पात्यमाना व्यदृश्यन्त शतशो5थ सहसत्रश:,घुड़सवारोंद्वारा पैदलोंके समूह और पैदलोंद्वारा घुड़सवारोंके समूह सैकड़ों और हजारोंकी संख्यामें गिराये जाते हुए दिखायी देते थे
ettisaṅghā hayārohaiḥ sādisāṅghāś ca pattibhiḥ | pātyamānā vyadṛśyanta śataśo 'tha sahasraśaḥ ||
सञ्जय उवाच—हयारोहैः पत्तिसङ्घाः, पत्तिभिश्च हयारोहसङ्घाः पात्यमानाः शतशोऽथ सहस्रशो व्यदृश्यन्त।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the indiscriminate, multiplying nature of warfare: opposing arms neutralize each other, and death spreads in vast numbers. Ethically, it points to the heavy human cost that accompanies kṣatriya conflict, reminding the listener that victory is purchased through widespread suffering.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the battlefield spectacle at Kurukṣetra: horsemen are felling masses of infantry, while infantry in turn bring down masses of horsemen, with casualties occurring in the hundreds and thousands.