Shloka 41
Rajo-dhūli-saṃmūḍha-saṅgrāmaḥ
The Dust-Obscured Battle and Mutual Charges
ततो भीष्मरथात् तूर्णमुत्पतन्ति पतत्त्रिण: । यैरन्तरिक्षं भूमिश्व सर्वतः समवस्तृता,तत्पश्चात् भीष्मके रथसे शीघ्रतापूर्वक पंखयुक्त बाण पक्षीके समान उड़ने लगे, जिन्होंने पृथ्वी और आकाश सबको आच्छादित कर लिया
tato bhīṣma-rathāt tūṛṇam utpatanti patattriṇaḥ | yair antarīkṣaṃ bhūmiś ca sarvataḥ samavastṛtāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Then, from Bhīṣma’s chariot, winged shafts sprang forth at once, flying like birds, and with them the sky and the earth seemed covered on every side.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily conveys the epic’s ethical tension of war: extraordinary skill and power can dominate the battlefield, yet such might functions within a larger dharmic tragedy where victory is pursued through destructive means.
Sañjaya describes Bhīṣma releasing a rapid volley of arrows from his chariot; the arrows are poetically compared to birds, and their sheer number makes it seem as though they blanket both sky and earth.