Shloka 22
Śalya’s Objection to Sārathya and Duryodhana’s Conciliation (शल्यमन्यु-प्रशमनम् / Sārathyāṅgīkāra)
तैर्विमुक्तै: शरशतैश्छादितं गगनं तदा । शलभानां यथा व्रातैस्तद्वदासीद् विशाम्पते,प्रजानाथ! उस समय धनुषसे छूटे हुए सौ-सौ बाणोंद्वारा आच्छादित हुआ आकाश पतंगोंके समूहसे भरा हुआ-सा प्रतीत होता था
sañjaya uvāca |
tair vimuktaiḥ śaraśatais chāditaṃ gaganaṃ tadā |
śalabhānāṃ yathā vrātais tadvad āsīd viśāṃpate prajānātha ||
Sañjaya sprach: Damals wurde der Himmel von Hunderten und Aberhunderten aus den Bögen gelöster Pfeile bedeckt. O Herr des Volkes, er schien wie von Heuschreckenschwärmen erfüllt—so dicht war der Flug der Geschosse in jenem gerechten und doch schrecklichen Krieg.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the overwhelming momentum of war: when conflict escalates, it can blanket perception itself—symbolized by the sky hidden by arrows. Implicitly it warns that adharma-driven rivalry produces a storm of consequences that engulfs all, even those who merely witness or rule from afar.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the battlefield has become so intense that volleys of arrows fill the air. He uses a vivid simile: the sky looks like it is crowded with swarms of locusts, conveying density, speed, and terror of the missile exchange.