Shloka 71
भीष्मधनंजयद्वैरथम्
Bhīṣma–Dhanaṃjaya Duel and the Opening Clash
शितधारैस्तथा खड्गैर्विमलैश्न परश्वधै: । शरैरन्यैश्व बहुभि: शस्त्रै्नानाविधेरपि
śitadhāraistathā khaḍgairvimalaiś ca paraśvadhaiḥ | śarair anyaiś ca bahubhiḥ śastrair nānāvidhair api ||
Sinabi ni Sanjaya: Sa mga espadang matatalim, sa mga palakol na makinang at malinis, at sa marami pang palaso at sari-saring sandata, itinulak ng mga mandirigma ang labanan pasulong nang lalo pang mabangis.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse does not give a direct moral injunction; it intensifies the depiction of war’s machinery—many kinds of weapons—inviting reflection on how conflict, once unleashed, multiplies instruments of harm and carries its own momentum, a recurring ethical tension in the Mahābhārata.
Sañjaya narrates the battle scene, describing combatants employing sharp swords, gleaming axes, numerous arrows, and many other varied weapons—signaling a fierce phase of fighting in the Bhīṣma Parva.