Shloka 3
निवातकवचैः सह अर्जुनस्य रथयुद्धम्
Arjuna’s chariot engagement with the Nivātakavacas
रथनेमिस्वनश्वैव घण्टाशब्दक्ष भारत । पृथग् व्यालमृगाणां च पक्षिणामिव सर्वश:,भारत! रथके पहियोंकी घर्घराहट, घंटानाद तथा सर्प, मृग एवं पक्षियोंक कोलाहल सब ओर पृथक्-पृथक् सुनायी दे रहे थे
rathanemisvanāś caiva ghaṇṭāśabdāś ca bhārata | pṛthag vyālamṛgāṇāṃ ca pakṣiṇām iva sarvaśaḥ ||
قال فَيْشَمْبايَنَة: «يا بْهاراتا، من كل ناحية كانت تُسمَع أصواتٌ متميّزة: دَوِيُّ عجلاتِ العربات ورنينُ الأجراس، وعلى نحوٍ منفصلٍ كذلك صياحُ وحفيفُ الحيّات والوحوش والطيور. لقد رُسِمَ المشهدُ بالصوت، مُظهِرًا عالمًا حيًّا بالحركة والتيقّظ، حيث يسير كلُّ كائنٍ وفق سْفَبْهافا—طبيعته الخاصة—وسط جوٍّ متوتّرٍ مترقّب.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how a setting can be understood through its sounds: each creature and object expresses its own nature distinctly. Implicitly, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s realism—dharma is lived amid a world of many voices, where discernment requires noticing what is separate and what is mixed.
Vaiśampāyana describes an environment filled with distinct noises: the grinding/rumbling of chariot wheels, the ringing of bells, and the separate calls or movements of serpents, wild animals, and birds heard from all directions—creating a vivid, tense forest-like soundscape around the travelers.