Shloka 23
दुःशासनवधः (Duḥśāsana-vadha) — Bhīma’s vow-fulfillment in combat
बाणान्धकारमभवत्तद् युद्ध घोरदर्शनम्,उस समय भयंकर दिखायी देनेवाला वह युद्ध बाणोंके अन्धकारसे व्याप्त हो गया। माननीय प्रजानाथ! जब धर्मपुत्र युधिष्ठिर कौरव-सेनाका वध करने लगे, उस समय आपके योद्धाओंका महान् हाहाकार सब ओर गूँज उठा
sañjaya uvāca | bāṇāndhakāram abhavat tad yuddhaṃ ghoradarśanam | tasmin samaye bhayaṅkara-dṛśyam idaṃ yuddhaṃ bāṇānām andhakāreṇa vyāptaṃ babhūva | mānīya prajānātha! yadā dharmaputraḥ yudhiṣṭhiraḥ kaurava-senāyā vadhaṃ kartum ārabdhavān, tadā tava yodhānāṃ mahān hāhākāraḥ sarvato 'bhavat ||
Sañjaya thưa: Trận chiến ấy, ghê rợn khi nhìn, bị bao phủ bởi một màn tối dệt bằng mưa tên. Ôi bậc chúa tể đáng kính của muôn dân! Khi Dharmaputra Yudhiṣṭhira bắt đầu đánh giết đạo quân Kaurava, tiếng kêu thảm thiết vang dậy khắp bốn phía giữa các chiến binh của ngài.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a righteous king like Yudhishthira, bound by kṣatriya-dharma, can become an instrument of mass destruction in war; the verse highlights how violence rapidly escalates into collective suffering, symbolized by the ‘darkness’ of arrows and the universal cry of distress.
Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra that the battlefield is so thick with arrows it appears dark; at the moment Yudhishthira begins cutting down the Kaurava forces, Dhritarashtra’s warriors panic and a loud wail spreads everywhere.