Shloka 18
Sātyaki-praveśaḥ and Duryodhana-saṃnipātaḥ
Sātyaki’s passage and Duryodhana’s mass engagement
शुश्रुवे शक्रमुक्तानामशनीनामिव स्वन: । बाणोंके परस्पर टकरानेसे उनकी धारोंके आघात-प्रत्याघातसे जो शब्द होता था, वह इन्द्रके छोड़े हुए वज्रास्त्रोंकी गड़गड़ाहटके समान सुनायी पड़ता था ।। नाराचैव्यतिविद्धानां शराणां रूपमाबभौ
sañjaya uvāca | śuśruve śakramuktānām aśanīnām iva svanaḥ | bāṇānāṃ paraspara-ṭakarāṇeṣāṃ teṣāṃ dhārāṇām āghāta-pratyāghātād yo śabdo bhavati sa indreṇa chūḍeṣu vajrāstreṣu garjanā-sadṛśaḥ śrūyate || nārācaiś ca vyatividdhānāṃ śarāṇāṃ rūpam ābabhau |
Sañjaya said: The clash of arrows rang out like the thunder of Indra’s lightning-bolts. As their sharpened edges struck and rebounded against one another, the sound that arose seemed like the roar of the vajra-weapon released by the lord of the gods. And the battlefield presented the sight of shafts and nārāca-arrows crossing and piercing through in dense volleys.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse does not give a direct moral injunction; it heightens the ethical tension of war by portraying its overwhelming force through divine imagery. By likening human-made destruction to Indra’s thunder, it underscores how battle magnifies kṣatriya duty into a terrifying, world-shaking ordeal—inviting reflection on the cost of violence even when undertaken as dharma.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield acoustics and spectacle: arrows collide edge-to-edge, producing a roar like Indra’s thunderbolt, while volleys of shafts and heavy nārāca-arrows crisscross and pierce through in rapid succession.