Shloka 14
Bhīṣma’s Fall, the Arrow-bed (śara-talpa), and the Establishment of Guard
सेनयोरुभयोश्षवापि असर अब यते महान् । पाञ्चजन्यस्य निर्घोषो च निःस्वन:,“दोनों ही सेनाओंमें चारों ओर पांचजन्य शंखका गम्भीर घोष और गाण्डीवधनुषकी टंकारथ्वनि सुनायी देती है
sañjaya uvāca | senayor ubhayoḥ śvāpī asar abhyate mahān | pāñcajanyasya nirghoṣo ca niḥsvanaḥ |
Sañjaya nói: “Trong cả hai đạo quân, khắp nơi dấy lên một cơn náo động lớn—tiếng tù và Pāñcajanya trầm hùng vang dội, và tiếng dây cung Gāṇḍīva bật ngân như chuông.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how the outward commencement of war—signaled by sacred and martial sounds—also marks an inward ethical threshold: once the call is sounded, each side must confront responsibility (dharma), intention, and the consequences of violence.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield atmosphere at Kurukṣetra: across both armies a great uproar rises, dominated by Kṛṣṇa’s conch Pāñcajanya and the sharp twang of Arjuna’s bow Gāṇḍīva, indicating the battle’s imminent engagement.