Shloka 1
Adhyāya 108 — Nimitta-darśana and Drona’s counsel amid Arjuna’s advance (निमित्तदर्शनं द्रोणोपदेशश्च)
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत भीष्मपर्वके अन्तर्गत भीष्यवधपर्वमें सात्यकिका युद्धाविषयक एक सौ चारवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ ॥/ १०४ ॥। अपना बछ। अफड-ण करा पञ्चाधिकशततमोब< ध्याय: मर आओ दुःशासनको भीष्मकी रक्षाके लिये आदेश
sañjaya uvāca |
dṛṣṭvā bhīṣmaṁ raṇe kruddhaṁ pāṇḍavair abhisamvṛtam |
yathā meghair mahārāja tapānte divi bhāskaram ||
Sañjaya said: “Seeing Bhīṣma, furious in the midst of battle and surrounded on all sides by the Pāṇḍavas—just as, O great king, clouds in the sky encircle the blazing sun at the end of summer—(I shall describe what followed).”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames battlefield perception through a moral-narrative lens: even the mightiest warrior (Bhīṣma, likened to the sun) can be momentarily obscured by collective opposition (clouds/Pāṇḍavas). It highlights the tension between personal prowess and the larger forces—duty, circumstance, and the gathered momentum of many—shaping outcomes in a dharmic conflict.
Sañjaya begins describing a new phase of fighting: Bhīṣma is enraged on the battlefield and is being pressed and surrounded by the Pāṇḍavas. The scene is introduced with a simile comparing Bhīṣma to the summer sun and the Pāṇḍavas to clouds encircling it.