Mahabharata 7.201.19 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 201, Shloka 19
महाराज! इसी प्रकार वहाँ निर्मल आकाशमें प्रकाशित होनेवाले ज्योतिर्मय ग्रह- नक्षत्रोंके समान काले लोहेके चलते हुए गोले भी प्रकट हो-होकर गिरने लगे ।।
sañjaya uvāca | mahārāja! evaṃ tatra nirmale ākāśe prakāśamānānāṃ jyotirmayānāṃ graha-nakṣatrāṇām iva kāla-lohasya calantaḥ golāḥ prādurbhūya prādurbhūya nipetūḥ || catuścakrā dvicakrāś ca śataghnyo bahulā gadāḥ | cakrāṇi ca kṣurāntāni maṇḍalānīva bhāsvataḥ ||
Sañjaya sprach: O König, dort war es, als leuchteten im klaren Himmel Planeten und Sternbilder; ebenso erschienen immer wieder dunkle Eisenkugeln, die sich von selbst bewegten, und stürzten herab. Vier- und zweirädrige śataghnīs, viele Keulen und zahlreiche Wurfscheiben, deren Ränder mit Klingen besetzt waren, traten hervor, strahlend wie die Kreise der Sonne—ein Zeichen der schrecklichen, beinahe überweltlichen Steigerung der Gewalt in der Schlacht.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how war, once unleashed, escalates into impersonal devastation—weaponry and destruction seem to multiply beyond human control. Ethically, it warns that adharma-driven conflict produces a world where fear and ruin appear as ‘natural’ as the stars, normalizing violence and obscuring discernment.
Sañjaya describes to Dhṛtarāṣṭra a terrifying battlefield scene: dark iron spheres fall repeatedly, and various heavy weapons—two- and four-wheeled śataghnīs, many maces, and razor-edged discus-weapons—appear in great numbers, compared to radiant solar discs, conveying an ominous surge in the battle’s ferocity.
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