Shloka 94
द्रोणकर्णयोः निशि संप्रहारः — Night Engagement with Droṇa and Karṇa
प्रदीप्तोल्कमभवच्चान्तरिक्ष॑ मृतेषु देहेष्वपपतन् वयांसि । यत् पिड्जनलज्येन किरीटमाली क्रुद्धो रिपूनाजगवेन हन्ति,आकाशमें कितनी ही उल्काएँ प्रज्वलित हो उठीं और योद्धाओंके मृत शरीरोंपर मांसभक्षी पक्षी गिरने लगे; क्योंकि उस समय क्रोधमें भरे हुए किरीटधारी अर्जुन पीली प्रत्यंचावाले गाण्डीव धनुषके द्वारा शत्रुओंका संहार कर रहे थे
sañjaya uvāca |
pradīptolkām abhavac cāntarikṣaṁ mṛteṣu deheṣv apapatan vayāṁsi |
yat piñjanālajyena kirīṭamālī kruddho ripūn ājagavena hanti ||
Sañjaya said: “The sky blazed with flaming meteors, and flesh-eating birds swooped down upon the bodies of the slain. For at that time the diademed Arjuna, consumed by wrath, was cutting down his enemies with the Gāṇḍīva whose bowstring was tawny-yellow.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how extreme violence in war is accompanied by ominous signs in nature—meteors and carrion birds—suggesting that even when battle is pursued under kṣatriya duty, its ethical gravity and destructive consequences are unmistakable.
Sañjaya describes a battlefield moment where Arjuna, wearing his diadem and enraged, is slaughtering enemies with the Gāṇḍīva; simultaneously, the sky shows blazing meteors and birds descend upon the dead, intensifying the scene with portent and dread.