Shloka 1
Droṇa’s Withdrawal, Death, and the Kaurava Rout (द्रोणनिधन-प्रसङ्गः)
/ अपन का बा | अफड-ए क्र त्रिषष्ट्याधिकशततमो< ध्याय: कौरवों और पाण्डवोंकी सेनाओंमें प्रदीपों (मशालों)-का प्रकाश संजय उवाच वर्तमाने तथा युद्धे घोररूपे भयावहे । तमसा संवृते लोके रजसा च महीपते,संजय कहते हैं--राजन्! जिस समय वह भयंकर घोर युद्ध चल रहा था, उस समय सम्पूर्ण जगत् अन्धकार और धूलसे आच्छादित था; इसीलिये रणभूमिमें खड़े हुए योद्धा एक-दूसरेको देख नहीं पाते थे। वह महान् युद्ध अनुमानसे तथा नाम या संकेतोंद्वारा चलता हुआ उत्तरोत्तर बढ़ता जा रहा था
sañjaya uvāca | vartamāne tathā yuddhe ghorarūpe bhayāvahe | tamasā saṃvṛte loke rajasā ca mahīpate ||
Sañjaya said: O King, while that battle—terrible in form and dreadful to behold—was raging on, the whole world seemed shrouded in darkness and choked with dust. In that obscurity the warriors on the field could scarcely discern one another, and the fighting pressed forward by inference, by names, and by shouted signals rather than by clear sight.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war breeds confusion and moral-psychological darkness: when dust and night conceal vision, action proceeds through guesswork and shouted signs, suggesting that violence diminishes clarity, restraint, and reliable judgment.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the battle has become so fierce that darkness and dust cover everything; fighters cannot clearly see one another, and combat continues amid uncertainty, guided by calls, names, and signals.