Shloka 193
Śalya–Bhīma Gadā-saṃnipāta and Śalya’s Bāṇa-jāla against Yudhiṣṭhira
Book 9, Chapter 11
अभ्ययु: कौरवा राजन् पाण्डवानामनीकिनीम् । नरेश्वर! तत्पश्चात् एक साथ संगठित होकर जूझनेवाले दोनों पक्षोंके वीरोंका वह युद्ध बड़ा भयंकर हो गया। राजन! कौरव-योद्धाओंने अपनी सारी सेनाओंको एकत्र करके पाण्डव-सेनापर धावा बोल दिया
sañjaya uvāca | abhyayuḥ kauravā rājan pāṇḍavānām anīkinīm | nareśvara tatpaścāt eka-sātha-saṅghaṭitāḥ yoddhum ubhayapakṣīyā vīrāḥ samare 'tibhayānakaṃ yuddham akurvan | rājan kaurava-yoddhāḥ sarvāḥ senāḥ samāhūya pāṇḍava-senām abhyadhāvan |
अभ्ययुः कौरवा राजन् पाण्डवानामनीकिनीम्। ततः नरेश्वर उभयपक्षवीराः समवेताः समरे युयुधिरे; तद् युद्धं सुघोरं बभूव। राजन् कौरवाः सर्वां सेनामेकत्र कृत्वा पाण्डवसेनामभ्यधावन्।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how collective resolve and massed aggression rapidly intensify violence: when both sides consolidate and rush in together, war becomes ‘exceedingly dreadful.’ It implicitly cautions that once conflict is embraced as a total, unified effort, ethical restraint becomes harder to maintain and destruction escalates.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Kauravas, assembling all their forces, launch a charge against the Pandava army. As both sides close ranks and engage in a compact, simultaneous clash, the battle turns extremely fierce and terrifying.