Shloka 34
आर्तनादेन घोरेण वसुधा समकम्पत । तदनन्तर सहसा महारथी द्रोणाचार्य आगे बढ़े। फिर तो भयंकर आर्तनादके साथ सारी पृथ्वी काँप उठी ।। ततस्तुमुलमाकाशमावृणोत् सदिवाकरम्,इसके बाद प्रचण्ड वायुके वेगसे बड़े जोरकी धूल उठी, जो रेशमी वस्त्रोंके समुदाय-सी प्रतीत होती थी। उस तीव्र एवं भयंकर धूलने सूर्यसहित समूचे आकाशको ढक लिया। आकाशमें मेघोंकी घटा नहीं थी, तो भी वहाँसे मांस, रक्त तथा हड्डियोंकी वर्षा होने लगी
sañjaya uvāca | ārtanādena ghoreṇa vasudhā samakampata | tadanantaraṃ sahasā mahārathī droṇācāryo 'gre babhūva | tatastumulaṃ ākāśam āvṛṇot sadivākaram |
Sañjaya said: With a dreadful cry of anguish, the earth shook. Immediately thereafter, Droṇācārya—the great chariot-warrior—surged to the fore. Then, in the tumult, a thick pall rose and covered the sky, veiling even the sun. Though there were no storm-clouds, the battlefield’s horror seemed to overturn the natural order itself, as if flesh, blood, and bones were raining down—an ominous sign of war’s adharma and the suffering it unleashes.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how mass violence deforms both human conduct and the perceived order of nature: the cries of the wounded and the advance of a great commander are framed as portents, reminding the listener that war inevitably produces widespread suffering and moral peril (adharma), even when fought under claims of duty.
Sañjaya describes a terrifying moment on the battlefield: anguished cries make the earth seem to tremble; Droṇācārya moves to the front; and a dense, tumultuous covering (understood as dust and chaos) obscures the sky and even the sun, presented as an ominous sign accompanying the escalation of combat.