संजय उवाच
वर्तमाने तथा युद्धे घोररूपे भयावहे ॥
तमसा संवृते लोके रजसा च महीपते ॥
नापश्यन्त रणे योधाः परस्परम् अवस्थिताः ॥
अनुमानेन संज्ञाभिर् युद्धं तद् ववृते महत् ॥
नरनागाश्वमथनं परमं लोमहर्षणम् ॥
द्रोणकर्णकृपा वीरा भीमपार्षतसात्यकाः ॥
अन्योन्यं क्षोभयाम् आसुः सैन्यानि नृपसत्तम ॥
saṃjaya uvāca
vartamāne tathā yuddhe ghorarūpe bhayāvahe ||
tamasā saṃvṛte loke rajasā ca mahīpate ||
nāpaśyanta raṇe yodhāḥ parasparam avasthitāḥ ||
anumānena saṃjñābhir yuddhaṃ tad vavṛte mahat ||
naranāgāśvamathanaṃ paramaṃ lomaharṣaṇam ||
droṇakarṇakṛpā vīrā bhīmapārṣatasātyakāḥ ||
anyonyaṃ kṣobhayām āsuḥ sainyāni nṛpasattama ||
While the battle so lasted, terrible in aspect, dread-inspiring, when the world was enveloped in darkness and dust, O lord of the earth, the warriors in the fight could not see one another though standing side by side. By guesswork, by conventional signs, that great battle raged on, crushing men, elephants, and horses, supremely hair-raising. The heroes Drona, Karna, Kripa, Bhima, Parshata [Dhrishtadyumna], and Satyaki cast each other's troops into confusion, O best of kings.
f0f7c83f47c1 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:40:46 PM UTC
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Night erases sight, and the battle turns blind: warriors strike "by guesswork, by signs," not seeing those who stand beside them. It is telling that dread does not lessen with darkness but grows: unseen death is more terrible than seen death. The verse teaches that darkness is an image of ignorance, in which a man strikes blindly and perishes without telling friend from foe; and bodily blindness here reveals the blindness of enmity itself, which long ago lost sight of what it kills for.