Mahabharata — Virata Parva, Shloka 8
Adhyāya 61: Saṃmohana-astra and the Kuru Withdrawal (संमोहनास्त्रं तथा कुरुनिवृत्तिः)
सिंहनादैश्व शूराणां गजानां बृंहितैस्तथा । गाण्डीवशब्देन भूशमशनिप्रतिमेन च । श्रुति: स्मृतिश्च मे वीर प्रणष्टा मूढचेतस:
siṃhanādaiś ca śūrāṇāṃ gajānāṃ bṛṃhitais tathā | gāṇḍīvaśabdena bhūśam aśanipratimena ca | śrutiḥ smṛtiś ca me vīra praṇaṣṭā mūḍhacetasāḥ ||
বৈশম্পায়নে ক’লে—বীৰসকলৰ সিংহনাদ, হাতীৰ বৃংহিত আৰু ভূমিত বজ্ৰাঘাতৰ দৰে গৰ্জন কৰা গাণ্ডীৱৰ ঘোৰ ধ্বনিত, হে বীৰ, মোৰ শ্ৰৱণশক্তি আৰু স্মৰণশক্তি লুপ্ত হৈছে; মোৰ চিত্ত বিভ্ৰান্ত হৈ পৰিছে।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how the sensory force of war—roars, trumpets, and the famed sound of Gāṇḍīva—can overwhelm even a person’s basic faculties (hearing and memory). Ethically, it underscores the human cost of battle: courage is praised, yet the chaos of violence can shatter composure and clarity, reminding readers that dharma in war demands steadiness of mind amid terror.
Vaiśaṃpāyana narrates the battlefield atmosphere: heroic lion-roars, elephants’ trumpeting, and the earth-shaking, thunderbolt-like twang of the Gāṇḍīva. The speaker within the scene (addressing a ‘hero’) confesses being mentally stunned—his hearing and memory seem to fail under the din and shock of combat.