Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 31
शल्यवधे कौरवसेनाभङ्गः, भीमस्य गदायुद्धं, दुर्योधनस्य समाह्वानम्
Rout after Śalya’s fall; Bhīma’s mace engagement; Duryodhana’s rally
पपात महती चोल्का मध्येनादित्यमण्डलम् । सब ओर कबन्ध खड़े दिखायी दे रहे थे और सूर्यमण्डलके बीचसे वहाँ बड़ी भारी उल्का गिरी ।। रथैर्भग्नैर्युगाक्षैश्न निहतैश्व महारथै:
sañjaya uvāca |
papāta mahatī colkā madhyenādityamaṇḍalam |
sarvato kabaṇdhāḥ khaḍgā dṛśyante sma sūryamaṇḍalasya madhyena tatra bṛhatī ulkā nipapāta ||
rathair bhagnair yugākṣaiś ca nihatāiś ca mahārathaiḥ ||
সঞ্জয় বললেন—সূর্যমণ্ডলের মধ্যভাগ ভেদ করে এক মহা উল্কা পতিত হল। চারদিকে কबंध দাঁড়িয়ে ছিল; ভাঙা রথ, ভগ্ন জোয়াল ও অক্ষ, আর নিহত মহারথীরা রণক্ষেত্রে ছড়িয়ে পড়েছিল।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how adharma-driven violence is accompanied—within epic poetics—by ominous portents: nature and perception mirror moral collapse. It warns that when righteous restraint is abandoned, the world appears disordered, and destruction multiplies.
Sañjaya reports terrifying battlefield sights and omens: a huge meteor seems to cut through the sun’s disc, headless bodies stand about, and the ground is littered with broken chariots and slain great warriors—signaling the war’s catastrophic intensity.