Shloka 693
युधिष्ठिरस्य धनंजय-प्रति गर्हा
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Reproach to Dhanaṃjaya
समावृतैर्नरवरैर्निष्नद्धिरितरेतरम् । उस समय वहाँ अस्त्रोंसे आवृत हो परस्पर आघात करनेवाले नरश्रेष्ठ वीरोंके चलाये हुए बाणोंकी वृष्टिसे आकाशमें मेघोंकी छाया-सी छा रही थी
saṃvṛtair naravarair niṣṇaddhair itaretaram |
Sañjaya said: The sky seemed covered as by a mass of cloud-shadow, for it was veiled by the ceaseless rain of arrows loosed by the foremost of men—armoured heroes striking one another in close combat. Thus did war, driven by mutual aggression, eclipse even clarity itself, and make the heavens a darkened witness to human fury.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse offers a moral-psychological image: when hostility becomes reciprocal and unchecked, it can 'cover the sky'—symbolizing how violence obscures discernment and overwhelms the world with its consequences.
Sañjaya describes an intense phase of battle where armoured elite warriors clash with one another, releasing such dense volleys of arrows that the sky appears darkened like it is under cloud-shadow.