Shloka 5
गौरुडव्यूह-रचना तथा अर्धचन्द्र-प्रत्यव्यूह
Garuḍa Array and the Ardhacandra Counter-Formation
तत् ते5हं सम्प्रवक्ष्यामि महावैशसमद्भुतम्
sañjaya uvāca | tat te 'haṃ sampravakṣyāmi mahāvaiśasam adbhutam | jighāṃsantaṃ yudhāṃ śreṣṭha tadā 'sīt tumulaṃ mahat ||
Sinabi ni Sañjaya: “O Hari, isasalaysay ko ngayon sa iyo ang kamangha-manghang tanawin ng malaking pagdanak ng dugo. Nang sumulong ang mga pangunahing mandirigma na may hangaring pumatay, noon din sumiklab ang isang napakalawak at magulong labanan.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames war as a realm where intention (jighāṃsā—desire to kill) rapidly produces collective catastrophe (mahāvaiśasa). It implicitly warns that even when war is pursued under kṣatriya-duty, its ethical cost is immense and must be faced without illusion.
Sañjaya tells Dhṛtarāṣṭra that he will describe an extraordinary episode of massive slaughter. He notes that when the leading warriors moved forward with lethal intent, the fighting swelled into a great, chaotic, and terrifying battle.