Shloka 51
Chapter 51: Saṃdhyākāla-saṃhāra
Evening Withdrawal after Arjuna’s Counter-Advance
ते तु बाणमयं वर्ष श्वेतमूर्थन्यपातयन् । निदाघान्ते3निलोद्धूता मेघा इव नगे जलम्
te tu bāṇamayaṃ varṣaṃ śvetamūrdhny apātayan | nidāghānte 'niloddhūtā meghā iva nage jalam ||
তখন তারা শ্বেতের মস্তকে বাণের বর্ষা নামাল—যেন গ্রীষ্মের অন্তে বায়ু-চালিত মেঘ পর্বতের উপর জল ঢেলে দেয়।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily offers a vivid battlefield simile rather than a direct moral injunction: in war, force can become overwhelming and collective, like a natural phenomenon. It invites reflection on the destructive momentum of conflict and the fragility of individual valor when confronted by massed violence.
A group of warriors begins showering Śveta with arrows, concentrating their attack on him. Sañjaya describes this barrage as comparable to wind-driven clouds at summer’s end pouring rain on a mountain.