Shloka 2
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय 18: सेनानिनादः, ध्वज-दीप्तिः, भीष्मरक्षण-व्यवस्था च
Battle Muster: Soundscape, Banners, and the Protection of Bhīṣma
शड्खदुन्दुभिघोषैश्न वारणानां च बूंहितै: । नेमिघोषै रथानां च दीर्यतीव वसुंधरा,शंख और दुन्दुभियोंके घोष; गजराजोंकी गर्जना तथा रथोंके पहियोंकी घरघराहटसे सारी पृथ्वी विदीर्ण-सी हो रही थी
śaṅkha-dundubhi-ghoṣaiś ca vāraṇānāṃ ca bṛṃhitaiḥ | nemi-ghoṣai rathānāṃ ca dīryatīva vasundharā ||
Sañjaya said: With the blare of conches and kettledrums, with the trumpeting roars of mighty elephants, and with the grinding rumble of chariot-wheels, the very earth seemed to be torn apart. The verse deepens the moral gravity of the battle to come: the instruments of royal duty and martial order become thunder of collective resolve, and a portent of the immense human cost a dharma-war demands.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse does not give a direct moral injunction; it frames the ethical weight of a dharma-conflict by portraying how organized martial forces—signals, drums, elephants, chariots—create an overwhelming din, suggesting that even a ‘righteous’ war shakes the world and demands sober responsibility.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield as the armies assemble and advance: conches and drums are sounded, elephants trumpet, chariot wheels rumble, and the combined noise is so immense that the earth seems to split.