Shloka 36
स नेमिघोषस्तनितश्चापविद्युच्छराम्बुभि: । भीमसेनमहामेघ: कर्णपर्वतमावृणोत्,रथके पहियोंकी घरघराहट जिसकी गम्भीर गर्जना थी और धनुष ही विद्युतके समान प्रकाशित होता था, भीमसेनरूपी उस महामेघने बाणरूपी जलकी वर्षसे कर्णरूपी पर्वतको ढक दिया
sa nemighoṣa-stanitaś cāpa-vidyuc-chara-ambubhiḥ | bhīmasena-mahāmeghaḥ karṇa-parvatam āvṛṇot ||
Sañjaya said: With the deep thunder of wheel-rims and the bow flashing like lightning, Bhīmasena—like a vast storm-cloud—poured a rain of arrows and completely covered Karṇa, who stood like a mountain. The image underscores how, in the fury of war, prowess and resolve can momentarily overwhelm even the mightiest, as if nature itself were unleashed.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily conveys a war-ethic of kṣatriya prowess through vivid natural imagery: disciplined strength and relentless effort can temporarily eclipse even a formidable opponent. Ethically, it highlights how the battlefield tests endurance and resolve, where superiority is shown not by cruelty but by steadfast martial capability within the accepted rules of combat.
Sañjaya describes Bhīmasena advancing in his chariot with a thunderous wheel-roar; his bow flashes like lightning, and he releases such a dense shower of arrows that Karṇa is metaphorically ‘covered’ like a mountain hidden by a storm-cloud’s rain.