Shloka 18
नद्यौर्न भूमिर्न दिश:ः प्राज्ञायन्त तथागते
nadyor na bhūmir na diśaḥ prājñāyanta tathāgate
Sañjaya sprach: Als er so vorstieß, waren weder die Flüsse noch das Land, ja nicht einmal die Himmelsrichtungen klar zu erkennen—alles geriet im Nachhall dieses heranstürmenden Vorstoßes durcheinander, als wäre die Ordnung des Schlachtfeldes vom Aufruhr verschlungen worden.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how violent momentum and collective upheaval in war can overwhelm human perception, erasing ordinary markers of orientation (land, rivers, directions). Ethically, it underscores war’s power to dissolve clarity and order, warning that conflict distorts judgment and the sense of right direction.
Sañjaya describes a moment of extreme commotion: as a force (or warrior) advances ‘thus,’ the battlefield becomes so disturbed that even basic landmarks—rivers, the ground, and the cardinal directions—cannot be distinguished.