Shloka 31
Adhyāya 110: Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament on Fate; Saṃjaya’s Reproof and the Princes’ Assault on Bhīma (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय ११०)
शिला: खडगा गुडाश्चैव ऋष्टीर्वजाणि चैव ह । सा राक्षसविसृष्टा तु शस्त्रवृष्टि: सुदारुणा
śilāḥ khaḍgā guḍāś caiva ṛṣṭīr vajāṇi caiva ha | sā rākṣasa-visṛṣṭā tu śastra-vṛṣṭiḥ sudāruṇā ||
Sañjaya sprach: „Steine, Schwerter, Streitkolben, Speere und schwere Knüppel — so sah der furchtbare Waffenregen aus, den der Rākṣasa entfesselte. Er fiel mit erschreckender Wucht, steigerte das Chaos der Schlacht und zeigte, wie Gewalt, von Zorn und roher Kraft getrieben, das Leid nach allen Seiten vermehrt.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how unchecked fury and the pursuit of victory through sheer destructive force lead to indiscriminate harm; it implicitly contrasts disciplined, dharma-guided warfare with terrifying, dehumanizing escalation.
Sañjaya describes a rākṣasa warrior unleashing a dreadful barrage—stones and multiple kinds of weapons—like a ‘rain’ falling upon the battlefield, heightening the peril for the opposing forces.