Shloka 7
Arjuna–Bhīṣma Strategic Engagement and Mutual Arrow-Interdiction (भीष्मार्जुनसमागमः)
नरेन्द्रनागाश्वरथाकुलाना- मभ्यागतानामशिवे मुहूर्ते । बभूव घोषस्तुमुल श्चमूनां वातोद्भुतानामिव सागराणाम्,राजाओं, हाथियों, घोड़ों तथा रथोंसे भरी हुई उभय पक्षकी सेनाएँ उस अमंगलमय मुहूर्तमें जब एक-दूसरेके सम्मुख और समीप आयीं, उस समय वायुसे उद्वेलित समुद्रोंकी भाँति उनका भयंकर कोलाहल सब ओर गूँजने लगा
sañjaya uvāca
narendranāgāśvarathākulānām abhyāgatānām aśive muhūrte |
babhūva ghoṣas tumulaś camūnām vātodbhutānām iva sāgarāṇām ||
Sañjaya said: When the armies of both sides—crowded with kings, elephants, horses, and chariots—had come face to face and drawn near at that inauspicious moment, a dreadful, swelling roar arose from the hosts, like the oceans heaved up by the wind. The verse frames the clash not as glory but as an ominous surge of collective force, hinting at the ethical darkness that accompanies fratricidal war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ominous moral atmosphere of war: when forces driven by power and rivalry converge, the result is a terrifying, impersonal tumult—suggesting that adharma manifests not only in actions but also in the very ‘omens’ and mood surrounding them.
As the two armies at Kurukṣetra draw close—packed with kings, elephants, horses, and chariots—an immense, frightening roar rises from the troops, compared to wind-churned oceans, marking the immediate prelude to battle.