Adhyāya 108 — Nimitta-darśana and Drona’s counsel amid Arjuna’s advance (निमित्तदर्शनं द्रोणोपदेशश्च)
न्यकृन्तन्नुत्तमाड़ननि विचरन्तो दिशो दश | वे घुड़सवार भी दसों दिशाओंमें विचरते हुए झुकी हुई गाँठवाले तीखे बाणों तथा प्रासोंद्वारा शत्रु-पक्षके सैनिकोंके मस्तक काट गिराते थे
nyakṛntann uttamāḍanāni vicaranto diśo daśa |
Sañjaya sprach: „Schnell durch alle zehn Himmelsrichtungen streifend, streckten jene Reiter die vornehmsten Kämpfer der feindlichen Seite nieder—sie schlugen Köpfe ab mit scharfen, widerhakigen Pfeilen und mit Speeren—und verbreiteten Schrecken und Verwirrung über das Schlachtfeld.“
संजय उवाच
The verse primarily serves as battlefield reportage rather than moral instruction: it highlights the relentless momentum of war and the kṣatriya mode of combat, implicitly reminding the listener that armed conflict rapidly escalates into widespread suffering and irreversible consequences.
Sañjaya describes mounted warriors sweeping across the field in all directions, using sharp, barbed arrows and spears to strike down enemy soldiers, even severing heads—an image of fast-moving cavalry assault and the chaos it creates.