Shloka 21
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय ९६: सौभद्रस्य आक्रमणम्, अलम्बुसस्य प्रतिविधानम्
Abhimanyu’s assault; Alambusa’s counter-engagement
अन्योन्यमभिधावन्त: सम्प्रहारं प्रचक्रिरे । नाना प्रकारके अस्त्र-शस्त्रोंकोी छोड़ते और एक-दूसरेकी ओर दौड़ते हुए उभय पक्षके महारथी भीषण युद्ध करने लगे ।। २० ई ।। व्यतिषक्तं महारौद्रं युद्ध भीरुभयावहम्
sañjaya uvāca | anyonyam abhidhāvantaḥ samprahāraṃ pracakrire | vyatiṣaktaṃ mahāraudraṃ yuddhaṃ bhīr-ubhayāvaham ||
Wika ni Sañjaya: Nag-uunahan silang sumugod sa isa’t isa, sinimulan nila ang mabangis na palitan ng hampas. Naging magusot at lubhang nakapanghihilakbot ang digmaan, naghatid ng sindak sa magkabilang panig—larawan ng pagragasa ng digmaan, kung saan iginigiit ang tapang at tungkuling-dharma sa gitna ng kapalit na etikal ng paglipol sa isa’t isa.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how war, once joined, rapidly becomes mutually entangling and terrifying: even when framed as kṣatriya-dharma, its lived reality is confusion, fear, and shared suffering—an implicit ethical reminder of the grave cost of violence.
Sañjaya reports that the great warriors of both sides charge at each other, hurling weapons and entering close combat; the fighting becomes densely intermingled and extremely dreadful, spreading fear across both armies.