Shloka 20

Bhīmasena’s Kalinga Engagement and the Approach of Bhīṣma (भीमसेन-कालिङ्ग-संग्रामः)

Devanagari script

हयैरपि हयारोहाश्चलामरापीडधारिभि: । हंसैरिव महावेगैरन्योन्यमभिविद्रुता:,चँवर और कलंगीसे सुशोभित हंस-तुल्य सफेद एवं महान्‌ वेगशाली घोड़ोंपर बैठे हुए कितने ही घुड़सवार एक-दूसरेपर धावा कर रहे थे

Transliteration

hayair api hayārohāś calāmarāpīḍadhāribhiḥ | haṃsair iva mahāvegair anyonyam abhividrutāḥ ||

Translation

చామరాలు, కలంగీలు ధరించిన అశ్వారోహులు కూడా, హంసలవలె తెల్లగా మహావేగంతో దూసుకెళ్లే గుర్రాలపై ఎక్కి, పరస్పరం మీదికి దూసుకొచ్చారు.

Word by Word

हयैःby horses

अपिalso/even

हयारोहाःhorse-riders

चलामरापीडधारिभिःwith bearers of yak-tail fans and crested head-ornaments

हंसैःby swans

इवlike/as

महावेगैःwith great speed / very swift

अन्योन्यम्each other (mutually)

अभिविद्रुताःrushed/charged (towards)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

horsemen (hayārohāḥ)

horses (hayāḥ)

cāmara (yak-tail whisk)

āpīḍa (crest/head-ornament)

swans (haṃsa) (as a simile)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse does not state a direct moral injunction; it heightens awareness of how war can appear magnificent—swift white horses, royal emblems, disciplined riders—yet that very magnificence is directed toward mutual destruction. It invites reflection on the ethical ambiguity of martial glory: beauty and prowess do not remove the burden of violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is narrating the Kurukṣetra battle to Dhṛtarāṣṭra. Here he depicts cavalry units: horsemen adorned with cāmaras and crests, mounted on fast white horses likened to swans, charging at each other in close combat.