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Shloka 383

Droṇasya raudra-prayogaḥ

Droṇa’s intensified assault and the Pāṇḍava response

उल्का ज्वलन्ती संग्रामे पुच्छेनावृत्य सर्वश: । उस समय एक प्रज्वलित एवं देदीप्यमान उल्का युद्धस्थलमें अपने पुच्छभागद्वारा सबको घेरकर भारी गर्जना और कम्पनके साथ पृथ्वीपर गिरी

sañjaya uvāca | ulkā jvalantī saṅgrāme pucchenāvṛtya sarvaśaḥ |

Sañjaya said: “In the midst of the battle, a blazing meteor, its fiery tail spreading all around as though enveloping everything, fell upon the earth with a dreadful roar and a trembling of the ground.”

उल्काmeteor, fireball
उल्का:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootउल्का
FormFeminine, Nominative, Singular
ज्वलन्तीblazing
ज्वलन्ती:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootज्वल्
FormFeminine, Nominative, Singular, शतृ (present active participle)
संग्रामेin the battle
संग्रामे:
Adhikarana
TypeNoun
Rootसंग्राम
FormMasculine, Locative, Singular
पुच्छेनwith (its) tail
पुच्छेन:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootपुच्छ
FormNeuter, Instrumental, Singular
आवृत्यhaving covered, enveloping
आवृत्य:
TypeVerb
Rootआ-वृ
Formक्त्वा (absolutive/gerund)
सर्वशःon all sides, entirely
सर्वशः:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootसर्वशः

संजय उवाच

S
Sañjaya
U
ulkā (meteor/omen)
S
saṅgrāma (battlefield)

Educational Q&A

The verse underscores how war is accompanied by ominous portents, suggesting that collective violence and moral decline (adharma) invite fear, instability, and foretold destruction; it cautions that ethical disorder manifests not only in human conduct but also in the perceived order of the world.

Sañjaya reports a terrifying battlefield omen: a blazing meteor with a spreading tail seems to cover everything and then crashes to the earth with a loud roar and tremors, heightening the sense of impending calamity during the Drona Parva war events.