Shloka 52
Chapter 23: Śakuni Reports, Kaurava Advance, and Arjuna’s Penetration of the Host
केशाकेशि समालग्ना न शेकुश्रैष्टितुं नरा: । अन्योन्यमश्चपृष्ठे भ्यो विकर्षन्तो महाबला:
keśākeśi samālagnā na śekuḥ ceṣṭituṁ narāḥ | anyonyam aśvapṛṣṭhebhyo vikarṣantaḥ mahābalāḥ ||
सञ्जय उवाच—केशाकेशि समालग्ना नरा न शेकुरपि चेष्टितुम्। अन्योन्यमश्वपृष्ठेभ्यः विकर्षन्तो महाबला बहवो दृश्यन्ते स्म।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war can degrade into uncontrolled, bodily violence where self-mastery and restraint collapse; it implicitly warns that even valor can be swallowed by rage and confusion when dharma is obscured by the frenzy of battle.
Sañjaya describes intense hand-to-hand fighting: warriors seize each other by the hair, becoming so entangled they cannot move, while powerful fighters pull opponents down from horseback, indicating a chaotic melee rather than orderly chariot warfare.