Shloka 22
गौरुडव्यूह-रचना तथा अर्धचन्द्र-प्रत्यव्यूह
Garuḍa Array and the Ardhacandra Counter-Formation
भीष्मचापच्युतैर्बाणैरार्तानां युध्यतां मृथे
bhīṣma-cāpa-cyutair bāṇair ārtānāṁ yudhyatāṁ mṛdhe, jighāṁsantaṁ yudhāṁ śreṣṭha tadā sīt tumulaṁ mahat.
Sinabi ni Sañjaya: “O Hari, nang ang mga palasong pinakawalan mula sa busog ni Bhīṣma ay tumama sa mga mandirigmang naglalaban sa siksikang sagupaan at nagdulot ng matinding hirap, si Bhīṣma—ang pinakadakila sa mga manlalaban—ay naging puntirya ng mga nagnanais pumatay sa kanya. Noon, sumiklab ang isang napakalaki at magulong digmaan.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how the prowess of a single foremost warrior can intensify collective violence: Bhīṣma’s effective archery causes widespread distress, provoking concentrated retaliation and escalating the battle’s ferocity—an implicit reminder of the grave ethical weight carried by martial excellence in war.
Sañjaya reports that Bhīṣma’s arrows are cutting down fighters in the thick of combat; in response, warriors who wish to slay Bhīṣma surge against him, and the clash swells into a great, chaotic, and terrifying engagement.