Shloka 38
कर्णपर्व — चतुर्दशोऽध्यायः
Arjuna’s Suppression of the Saṃśaptakas; Kṛṣṇa’s Strategic Admonition; Battlefield Inventory
अन्योन्यं छादयन्तौ सम शरवृष्ट्या महारथौ । शराम्बुधारौ समरे शस्त्रविद्युत्प्रकाशिनौ,वे दोनों महारथी धनुषरूपी विद्युतसे प्रकाशित होनेवाले मेघके समान हो बाणरूपी जल धारण करते थे और समरांगणमें बाण-वर्षा करके एक-दूसरेको ढके देते थे
anyonyam chādayantau samaśaravṛṣṭyā mahārathau | śarāmbudhārau samare śastravidyutprakāśinau ||
Sanjaya said: The two great chariot-warriors, showering equal volleys of arrows, covered one another over. In that battle they appeared like rain-bearing clouds—holding torrents of arrows—lit up by the lightning of their weapons, as each sought to outmatch the other in martial skill.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the intensity and symmetry of martial contest: when power meets power, the battlefield becomes a spectacle of skill and force. Ethically, it underscores how war magnifies human capability into destructive brilliance—inviting reflection on the cost of prowess when directed toward mutual harm.
Sanjaya describes a duel between two elite chariot-warriors. Each releases such a dense and equal rain of arrows that they obscure one another, appearing like storm-clouds bearing torrents, flashing with the lightning-like gleam of their weapons.