Shloka 20
भीष्मरथाभिमुख्यं — Arjuna’s advance with Śikhaṇḍin; Duḥśāsana’s interception
मृद्नन्तस्ते नरान् राजन् हयांश्व सुबहून् रणे वातायमाना दृश्यने गन्धर्वनगरोपमा:
sañjaya uvāca | mṛdnantas te narān rājan hayāṃś ca bahūn raṇe vātāyamānā dṛśyante gandharva-nagaropamāḥ ||
三阇耶说道：大王啊，那些战车在战斗中碾压了你方许多步卒与战马，人们看见它们如风疾驰——宛若乾闼婆的天城在眼前显现。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts the dazzling, almost heavenly appearance of martial power with its brutal reality: what looks splendid and swift like a celestial vision is simultaneously trampling living beings. It invites ethical reflection on how war’s glamour can mask suffering and moral consequence.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that certain chariots on the battlefield are charging with wind-like speed, crushing many of the king’s infantry and horses, and their moving formation appears wondrous—likened to a Gandharva-city.