Shloka 19
अभिमन्यु-पराक्रमवर्णनम्
Abhimanyu’s Prowess and the Duḥśāsana Engagement
ज्याशब्द: शुश्रुवे तस्य तलशब्दश्न दारुण: । महाशनिमुच: काले पयोदस्येव नि:स्वनः,उसके धनुषकी प्रत्यंचा और हथेलीका शब्द वर्षाकालमें महान् वज्र गिरानेवाले मेघकी गर्जनाके समान भयंकर सुनायी पड़ता था
jyāśabdaḥ śuśruve tasya talaśabdaś ca dāruṇaḥ | mahāśanimucaḥ kāle payodasyeva niḥsvanaḥ ||
Sanjaya said: The twang of his bowstring was heard, and the harsh clap of his palm as well—terrifying, like the thunderous roar of a rain-cloud in the season when it hurls great lightning. In the moral atmosphere of the war, this sound functions as an omen of irresistible martial force, announcing the surge of violence that overwhelms restraint and tests the warriors’ adherence to kṣatriya-dharma.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how war magnifies signs of power and intimidation: the hero’s very sounds become ‘thunder,’ reminding readers that kṣatriya-dharma involves formidable prowess, yet such prowess also signals the grave ethical weight of violence and the approaching suffering it unleashes.
Sañjaya describes the terrifying sounds produced by a warrior—his bowstring’s twang and the clap of his palm—comparing them to the roaring of a rain-cloud that releases great lightning, thereby heightening the battlefield tension and foreshadowing fierce combat.