Shloka 36
Adhyāya 36: Ghora-yuddha-varṇanam
A Clinical Description of the Intensified Engagement
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत कर्णपर्वमें शल्यसंवादविषयक छत्तीसवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ,चचाल पृथिवी राजन् ववाश च सुविस्तरम् । राजन्! कर्ण और कौरव योद्धाओंके प्रसन्नतापूर्वक प्रस्थान करनेपर धरती डोलने और बड़े जोर-जोरसे अव्यक्त शब्द करने लगी असुरसुरमहोरगान् नरान् गरुडपिशाचसय क्षराक्षसान् | इषुभिरजयदग्निगौरवात् स्वभिलषितं च हविर्ददी जय: अर्जुनने अग्निदेवका गौरव मानकर गरुड़, पिशाच, यक्ष, राक्षस, देवता, असुर, बड़े- बड़े नाग तथा मनुष्योंको भी बाणोंद्वारा परास्त कर दिया और अग्निको अभीष्ट हविष्य प्रदान किया था
cacāla pṛthivī rājan vavāśa ca suvistaram | rājan! karṇa-kaurava-yoddhānāṃ prasannatā-pūrvakaṃ prasthāne pṛthivī dolamānā babhūva mahā-śabdaṃ cāvyaktaṃ cakāra || asura-sura-mahoragān narān garuḍa-piśāca-yakṣa-rākṣasān | iṣubhir ajayad agni-gauravāt svābhilaṣitaṃ ca haviḥ dadau ||
Sañjaya said: O King, as Karṇa and the Kaurava warriors set out in high spirits, the earth began to tremble and to send forth a vast, indistinct roar. And (it is remembered that) Arjuna, honoring Agni’s majesty, overcame with his arrows even gods and asuras, great serpents, men, as well as Garuḍas, piśācas, yakṣas, and rākṣasas, and then offered Agni the oblation he desired. The passage sets ominous portents on the battlefield beside a recalled act of devotion and prowess, implying that moral and cosmic powers answer human deeds in war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links human action in war with cosmic response: the trembling earth and indistinct roar function as portents, while the recollection of Arjuna’s honoring of Agni through offering and martial protection highlights that power is ethically framed by reverence, duty, and sacrificial obligation.
Sañjaya reports to the king that as Karṇa and the Kaurava fighters depart confidently, the earth shakes and produces a great, unclear sound—an ominous sign. The passage also recalls Arjuna’s earlier feat of defeating many classes of beings with arrows in order to fulfill Agni’s wish for an oblation.