Mahabharata 7.17.49 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 17, Shloka 49
Saṃśaptakas in Candrārdha-vyūha; Arjuna’s Devadatta and the Traigarta Rout
Chapter 17
ततोडचन्योन्येन ते सैन्ये समाजग्मतुरोजसा । गड्भासरय्वौ वेगेन प्रावषीवोल्बणोदके
tato 'nyonyena te sainye samājagmaturojasā | gaṅgā-sarayvau vegena prāvṛṣīvolbaṇodake ||
संजय उवाच—ततः ते सेन्ये अन्योन्येन ओजसा समाजग्मतुः। गङ्गासरय्वौ वेगेन प्रावृषीवोल्बणोदके यथा।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse offers a reflective image rather than a direct moral injunction: once collective aggression is unleashed, events can gather a force like monsoon-swollen rivers, making restraint difficult. Ethically, it hints at the danger of allowing conflict to reach a point where momentum overrides deliberation and dharmic choice.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield moment when the two sides surge forward and crash into each other with great speed and power. He compares their collision to the Gaṅgā and Sarayū meeting in the rainy season when both are full and fast.
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