Shloka 26
भीष्मभीमसमागमः — Bhīṣma–Bhīma Strategic Engagement and Counsel to the King
स्वयं दुर्योधनो राजा पार्षतं समुपाद्रवत् । द्रोणाचार्यने विराटपर और अभ्व॒त्थामाने शिखण्डीपर धावा किया। स्वयं राजा दुर्योधनने ट्रपदपर चढ़ाई की ।। नकुल: सहदेवश्न मद्रराजानमीयतु:
svayaṃ duryodhano rājā pārṣataṃ samupādravat | droṇācāryaś ca virāṭaṃ śikhaṇḍinaṃ cābhyadhāvat | nakulaḥ sahadevaś ca madrarājānam īyatuḥ ||
Sinabi ni Sañjaya: Ang haring si Duryodhana mismo ay sumugod laban sa anak ni Pṛṣata (Dhṛṣṭadyumna). Si Droṇācārya ay sumalakay kay Virāṭa at sumugod din kay Śikhaṇḍin. Sina Nakula at Sahadeva naman ay humarap sa hari ng Madra. Sa gayon nabuo ang mga hanay ng labanan sa sadyang pagpili ng katunggali—patunay na ang mga personal na alitan at layuning pang-estratehiya ang nagtutulak sa karahasan ng digmaan, kahit sa mga nakaaalam ng bigat nitong moral.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, leaders deliberately choose opponents to meet strategic and personal aims; it implicitly raises the ethical tension between kṣatriya duty (fighting as required) and the destructive consequences of rivalry-driven violence.
Sañjaya reports specific battlefield engagements: Duryodhana personally attacks Dhṛṣṭadyumna; Droṇa advances against Virāṭa and Śikhaṇḍin; and the twin Pāṇḍavas Nakula and Sahadeva move to confront Śalya, the king of Madra.