Shloka 22
रणभूमिवर्णनम् — Devāsuropama-yuddha and the ‘River’ Metaphor of the Battlefield
विधुन्वन् कार्मुकं चित्र भारघ्नं वेगवत्तरम् । रथप्रवरमास्थाय सैन्धवाश्वंं महारथ:
vidhunvan kārmukaṃ citraṃ bhāraghnaṃ vegavattaram | rathapravaram āsthāya saindhavāśvaṃ mahārathaḥ ||
सञ्जय उवाच—चित्रं कार्मुकं भारघ्नं वेगवत्तरं विधुन्वन्, सैन्धवाश्वयुतं रथप्रवरमास्थाय, स महारथः पाण्डवान् अभ्यधावत्। तत्र व्यूहबन्धः समाश्वासनं च, सेनापतेः निर्णायकः प्रहारश्च—युद्धस्य घोरं प्रवाहं प्रादर्शयन्।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, leadership manifests through readiness, morale, and disciplined deployment of strength; ethically, it points to the sobering reality that skill and resolve can be directed toward destructive ends, reminding readers to weigh power against dharma.
Sañjaya describes a great warrior mounting a superior chariot drawn by Sindhu-bred horses and brandishing a remarkable, swift bow, then moving to attack the Pāṇḍavas—signaling an escalation and organized offensive in the battle.