Shloka 20

Bhīmasena’s Kalinga Engagement and the Approach of Bhīṣma (भीमसेन-कालिङ्ग-संग्रामः)

Devanagari script

हयैरपि हयारोहाश्चलामरापीडधारिभि: । हंसैरिव महावेगैरन्योन्यमभिविद्रुता:,चँवर और कलंगीसे सुशोभित हंस-तुल्य सफेद एवं महान्‌ वेगशाली घोड़ोंपर बैठे हुए कितने ही घुड़सवार एक-दूसरेपर धावा कर रहे थे

Transliteration

hayair api hayārohāś calāmarāpīḍadhāribhiḥ | haṃsair iva mahāvegair anyonyam abhividrutāḥ ||

Translation

三阇耶说：就连那些骑士，手执飘扬的牦牛尾拂尘，头戴羽冠饰物，也骑着洁白如天鹅、疾若大风的骏马，彼此迎面冲杀。

Word by Word

• हयैः: by horses
• हयैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: हय
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• अपि: also/even
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• हयारोहाः: horse-riders
• हयारोहाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: हयारोह
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• चलामरापीडधारिभिः: with bearers of yak-tail fans and crested head-ornaments
• चलामरापीडधारिभिः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चलामरापीडधारिन्
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• हंसैः: by swans
• Type: Noun
• Root: हंस
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• इव: like/as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• महावेगैः: with great speed / very swift
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महावेग
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• अन्योन्यम्: each other (mutually)
• अन्योन्यम्: Karma
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अन्योन्य

• अभिविद्रुताः: rushed/charged (towards)
• अभिविद्रुताः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि-विद्रु (धातु: द्रु/द्रव्)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural, क्त (past passive participle, used in active sense here)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• horsemen (hayārohāḥ)
• horses (hayāḥ)
• cāmara (yak-tail whisk)
• āpīḍa (crest/head-ornament)
• swans (haṃsa) (as a simile)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse does not state a direct moral injunction; it heightens awareness of how war can appear magnificent—swift white horses, royal emblems, disciplined riders—yet that very magnificence is directed toward mutual destruction. It invites reflection on the ethical ambiguity of martial glory: beauty and prowess do not remove the burden of violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is narrating the Kurukṣetra battle to Dhṛtarāṣṭra. Here he depicts cavalry units: horsemen adorned with cāmaras and crests, mounted on fast white horses likened to swans, charging at each other in close combat.