Shloka 18
भीष्मस्य सेनापत्यप्रतिज्ञा तथा रथसंख्यावर्णनम् | Bhishma Accepts Command and Enumerates Kaurava Strength
नृशंसतायास्तैक्ष्ण्यस्य धर्मविद्वेषणस्य च | अधर्मस्यातिवादस्य वृद्धातिक्रमणस्य च
nṛśaṃsatāyās taikṣṇyasya dharmavidveṣaṇasya ca | adharmasyātivādasya vṛddhātikramaṇasya ca
سنجے نے کہا— (اس میں) سفّاکی، سختی اور دھرم سے دشمنی ہے؛ بے دِینی، حد سے بڑھی ہوئی جھگڑالو گفتگو، اور بزرگوں کی بے حرمتی بھی ہے۔
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse lists moral faults that signal a fall from dharma: cruelty and harshness in conduct, hostility toward righteousness, indulgence in adharma, uncontrolled contentious speech, and the grave social-ethical breach of overstepping and disrespecting elders.
Sañjaya is describing a person’s disposition by enumerating vices—especially those that corrode dharma and social order—framing the ethical critique that underlies the escalating conflict in the Udyoga Parva.