Shloka 176
अलातोल्काशनिप्रख्यास्तव सैन्यं विनिर्दहन् । गाण्डीव धनुषसे छूटे हुए प्राण लेनेवाले नाना प्रकारके बाण जो अलात, उल्का और बिजलीके समान प्रकाशित हो रहे थे, आपकी सेनाको दग्ध करने लगे
sañjaya uvāca | alātolkāśaniprakhyās tava sainyaṃ vinirdahan | gāṇḍīva-dhanuṣaś chūṭāḥ prāṇa-lenevalā nānā-prakārakā bāṇāḥ alāta-ulkā-vidyut-samāḥ prakāśamānāḥ tava senāṃ dagdhum ārabdhāḥ |
Sañjaya sprach: Die Pfeile, die vom Bogen Gāṇḍīva gelöst wurden—glänzend wie lodernde Feuerbrände, Meteore und Blitze—begannen dein Heer zu versengen. Vielfältig in der Gestalt und tödlich in der Absicht, schienen sie das Leben selbst zu rauben und machten das Schlachtfeld zu einem Schauspiel unwiderstehlicher Gewalt und der düsteren moralischen Last des Krieges.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the terrifying efficiency of martial power and the ethical gravity of battle: even when war is framed as duty, its reality is the taking of life and the burning away of armies. It invites reflection on dharma in conflict—how righteous intent does not erase the suffering produced by weapons.
Sanjaya describes to Dhṛtarāṣṭra how arrows shot from the famed bow Gāṇḍīva blaze like firebrands, meteors, and lightning, and begin to scorch and devastate the Kaurava forces, emphasizing the overwhelming momentum of the attack.