Shloka 7
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Anxiety and Bhīṣma’s Theological Explanation of Pāṇḍava Invincibility
Book 6, Chapter 61
अनुमानेन संज्ञाभिननामगोत्रैश्व संयुगे । वर्तते च तथा युद्ध तत्र तत्र विशाम्पते
anumānena saṃjñābhir nāma-gotraiś ca saṃyuge | vartate ca tathā yuddhaṃ tatra tatra viśāṃpate prajānātha ||
三阇耶说道：“噢，民之主、众人之王——在那战场上，战士们凭推断、凭约定的暗号，并呼喊姓名与族系来辨认彼此是友是敌；于是各处皆以此法交战不息。”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral and practical tension of war: when combat becomes chaotic, identity is reduced to external markers—signals, names, and lineage—showing how easily human relations and ethical clarity can be strained in violence.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the battle had become scattered and confusing; warriors were determining whether someone was on their side or the enemy’s by inference and by calling out identifying signals, names, and gotras, and fighting was breaking out in many places accordingly.