Shloka 21
भीमसेनस्य प्रतिघातः—भगदत्तगजप्रहारः—घटोत्कचमायायुद्धम्
Bhīma’s Counteroffensive, Bhagadatta’s Elephant Assault, and Ghaṭotkaca’s Māyā Engagement
धावतां च रथौघानां निघ्नतां च पृथक् पृथक्,भारत! दौड़ते तथा पृथक्-पृथक् प्रहार करते हुए रथसमूहोंका शब्द दुन्दुभियोंकी ध्वनिसे मिलकर और भी भयंकर हो गया। आपके और पाण्डवोंके घमासान युद्धमें परस्पर आघात-प्रत्याघात करनेवाले नरवीरोंका भयानक शब्द आकाशमें व्याप्त हो रहा था
dhāvatāṁ ca rathaughānāṁ nighnatāṁ ca pṛthak pṛthak, bhārata!
Wika ni Sañjaya: “O Bhārata, habang sumusugod ang mga pangkat ng karwahe at nagbabanggaan sa magkakahiwalay na sagupaan, lalo pang naging nakapanghihilakbot ang ingay—humahalo sa dagundong ng mga tambol pandigma. Sa mabangis na labanan ng iyong mga anak at ng mga Pāṇḍava, ang nakatatakot na alingawngaw ng mga bayani na nagpapalitan ng hampas at ganting-hampas ay kumalat sa kalangitan.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse is primarily descriptive rather than doctrinal: it underscores the overwhelming, impersonal momentum of war—hosts in motion, scattered clashes, and a sky-filling roar. Ethically, it hints at the gravity of collective violence: once battle is unleashed, individual valor becomes part of a larger, terrifying machinery whose consequences exceed any single warrior’s intent.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the intensifying combat: chariot formations charge, collide, and fight in dispersed one-on-one or small-group engagements. The noise of impacts and counter-impacts, amplified by war-drums, becomes so fierce that it seems to pervade the heavens—signaling the full escalation of the Kaurava–Pāṇḍava battle.