Shloka 39
अर्धरात्रेडधिकबलै विंमुक्ता रक्षसां बलै: । तदनन्तर चारों ओरसे पत्थरोंकी अत्यन्त भयंकर एवं भारी वर्षा होने लगी। आधी रातके समय अधिक बलशाली हुए राक्षसोंके समुदाय वह प्रस्तर-वर्षा कर रहे थे || ३८ ६ || आयसानि च चक्राणि भुशुण्ड्य: शक्तितोमरा:
ardharātre ’dhikabalair vimuktā rakṣasāṁ balaiḥ | tadanantaraṁ cāroṁ orase pattharōṁkī atyanta bhayaṅkara evaṁ bhārī varṣā honē lagī | ādhī rātake samaya adhikabaḷaśālī huē rākṣasōṁke samūhaḥ saḥ prastara-varṣāṁ kar rahe the || āyāsāni ca cakrāṇi bhuśuṇḍyaḥ śakti-tomarāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: At midnight, when the hosts of rākṣasas had grown even more formidable, they unleashed on every side a terrifying, heavy shower of stones. With that barrage came iron wheels, bhusuṇḍīs, spears, and tomara-javelins—an assault meant to overwhelm by fear and sheer force rather than by fair contest.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how, in war, terror and indiscriminate force can replace restraint; it implicitly contrasts such fear-driven tactics with the ideal of dharmic combat, reminding readers that power without ethical limits tends toward cruelty and chaos.
Sañjaya describes a midnight escalation: rākṣasa forces, emboldened by the darkness, begin a massive bombardment—stones and various iron missiles—attacking from all sides to overwhelm their opponents.