Shloka 19
अध्याय ५३ — रणमेघोपमा सेना-वर्णना तथा सुषेण-वधोत्तर प्रतिक्रिया
Battle-as-Storm Imagery and the Aftermath of Suṣeṇa’s Fall
शतचन्द्रं च तच्चर्म गौतमस्तस्य भारत । व्यधमत् सायकैस्तूर्ण तत उच्चुक्रुशुर्जना:
śatacandraṃ ca tac carma gautamas tasya bhārata | vyadhamat sāyakais tūrṇaṃ tata uccukruśur janāḥ ||
Sañjaya sprach: O Bhārata, Gautama (Kṛpācārya) durchbohrte und zerschmetterte jenen Schild, der mit hundert mondförmigen Zeichen geziert war, mit seinen Pfeilen in größter Eile. Darauf erhob sich unter den Kriegern lauter Aufruhr.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how quickly worldly protections—status, armor, and confidence—can be destroyed in war, reminding the listener that skill and force can overturn security instantly, and that violence spreads fear and agitation through the whole assembly.
Sañjaya reports that Kṛpācārya (called Gautama) rapidly strikes with arrows and breaks a shield decorated with a hundred crescent-moon emblems; the surrounding warriors respond with a loud collective outcry.