Shloka 23
Arjuna–Bhīṣma Strategic Engagement and Mutual Arrow-Interdiction (भीष्मार्जुनसमागमः)
सर्वे त्वन्ये महीपाला: प्रेक्षका इव भारत । ददृशुर्दर्शनीयं त॑ भीम॑ ज्ञातिसमागमम्,भरतनन्दन! दूसरे सब राजालोग उस कुट॒म्बीजनोंके भयंकर दर्शनीय संग्रामको दर्शककी भाँति देखने लगे
sarve tv anye mahīpālāḥ prekṣakā iva bhārata | dadṛśur darśanīyaṃ taṃ bhīmaṃ jñātisamāgamaṃ ||
Sañjaya nói: Hỡi Bhārata, các vua chúa khác đều đứng nhìn như kẻ bàng quan, chứng kiến cuộc giao tranh vừa rực rỡ vừa kinh hoàng giữa những người cùng huyết thống—cuộc đối đầu dữ dội của Bhīma ngay trong hàng ngũ thân tộc.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral shock of a war among relatives: even powerful rulers can become passive onlookers when confronted with the dreadful spectacle of kin-slaying. It implicitly raises an ethical tension central to the Mahābhārata—dharma in war versus the tragedy of family conflict.
Sañjaya reports that the other kings present did not actively intervene; instead, they watched like spectators as a fearsome, ‘worth-seeing’ encounter unfolded among kinsmen on the battlefield.