Shloka 56
गौरुडव्यूह-रचना तथा अर्धचन्द्र-प्रत्यव्यूह
Garuḍa Array and the Ardhacandra Counter-Formation
तावकानां परेषां च यथा युद्धमवर्तत । आपके और पाण्डवोंके सैनिकोंमें जो महान् संहारकारी युद्ध जिस प्रकार हुआ
tāvakānāṃ pareṣāṃ ca yathā yuddham avartata | samprahasya tataḥ śvetaḥ sṛkkīṇī pariśaṃlihan dhanuḥ-śvicchedaṃ bhīṣmasya navabhir daśadhā śaraiḥ ||
Wika ni Sañjaya: “Isasalaysay ko sa iyo nang tumpak kung paano umikot ang mabagsik na labanan sa pagitan ng iyong hukbo at ng hukbo ng kaaway. Pagkaraan, si Śveta, tumatawa at dinidilaan ang magkabilang sulok ng kanyang bibig, ay sa siyam na palaso’y binasag ang busog ni Bhīṣma sa sampung piraso.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension of dharma in war: even when combat is framed as duty, it unleashes destructive momentum where skill and aggression can eclipse reverence for elders. Sañjaya’s insistence on reporting events “as they happened” also reflects the Mahābhārata’s concern with truthful witnessing amid moral complexity.
Sañjaya begins to describe to the king how the fighting proceeded between the Kaurava and Pāṇḍava forces. In the immediate action, the warrior Śveta, exultant and confident, shoots nine arrows that sever Bhīṣma’s bow into ten pieces, momentarily disarming the great grandsire.