Shloka 29
Arjuna–Bhīṣma Strategic Engagement and Mutual Arrow-Interdiction (भीष्मार्जुनसमागमः)
प्रयुद्धानां प्रभग्नानां पुनरावर्तिनामपि | नात्र स्वेषां परेषां वा विशेष: समदृश्यत
prayuddhānāṁ prabhagnānāṁ punarāvartinām api | nātra sveṣāṁ pareṣāṁ vā viśeṣaḥ samadṛśyata ||
Sañjaya thưa: Giữa những kẻ đang giao chiến, những kẻ bị đánh tan, và cả những kẻ bỏ chạy rồi lại quay trở lại, nơi ấy không còn thấy phân biệt được đâu là quân mình, đâu là quân địch.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that in the turmoil of war, the same patterns of bravery, fear, retreat, and return arise on both sides; ethical reflection sees a shared human condition rather than a simplistic moral superiority of ‘ours’ over ‘theirs’.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the battlefield had become so chaotic that fighters, the routed, and those who fled and came back were mixed together, making it impossible to distinguish clearly between the Kaurava and Pāṇḍava soldiers by their conduct.