Shloka 263
नारायणास्त्र-शमनं द्रौणि-प्रहारश्च
Pacification of the Nārāyaṇāstra and Drauni’s Renewed Assault
कालरात्रिनिभा हासीद् घोररूपा भयानका । भरतश्रेष्ठ) स्वभावसे ही भयंकर दिखायी देनेवाला आकाश उस समय और भी घोरतर हो उठा। युद्धभूमिमें शोभा पानेवाले योद्धाओंके लिये वह घोर एवं भयानक रात्रि कालरात्रिके समान प्रतीत होती थी
kālarātrinibhā hāsīd ghorarūpā bhayānakā | bharataśreṣṭha svabhāvata eva bhayaṅkaradarśanīyaṃ nabhas tadā bhūya eva ghorataraṃ babhūva | yuddhabhūmau śobhāṃ prāptānāṃ yodhānāṃ sā ghorā bhayānakā rātriḥ kālarātryā iva pratibhāti sma |
Sañjaya said: The night looked like Kālarātri herself—terrible in form and frightening. O best of the Bharatas, the sky, already fearsome by its very nature, grew even more dreadful at that time. For the warriors who sought glory on the battlefield, that grim and terrifying night appeared like Kālarātri—an omen of destruction that darkened both sight and spirit amid the violence of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how war distorts the moral and psychological world: even nature appears as an omen of destruction. It hints that when violence and adharma intensify, fear and foreboding pervade, reminding listeners that actions in war carry grave consequences beyond immediate victory.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the battlefield night became extraordinarily terrifying. The sky itself seemed more dreadful, and the night felt like Kālarātri—signaling impending slaughter and heightening the warriors’ sense of doom amid ongoing combat.