Shloka 35
अध्याय ५३ — रणमेघोपमा सेना-वर्णना तथा सुषेण-वधोत्तर प्रतिक्रिया
Battle-as-Storm Imagery and the Aftermath of Suṣeṇa’s Fall
सरथश्छादितो राजन् धृष्टद्युम्नो न दृश्यते । मेघैरिव परिच्छन्नो भास्करो जलधारिभि:
sarathaś chādito rājan dhṛṣṭadyumno na dṛśyate | meghair iva paricchanno bhāskaro jaladhāribhiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, Dhṛṣṭadyumna can no longer be seen—his chariot and all are covered over. Just as the sun becomes invisible when veiled by rain-bearing clouds, so too Dhṛṣṭadyumna disappeared from sight, shrouded by Kṛtavarman’s arrows.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how overwhelming force and circumstance can obscure even a prominent warrior, using a natural simile (sun hidden by rain-clouds) to show that visibility, reputation, and apparent dominance in war are fragile and can be suddenly eclipsed.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Dhṛṣṭadyumna has become impossible to see on the battlefield because his chariot is completely shrouded by a dense shower of arrows shot by Kṛtavarman, like the sun disappearing behind rain-laden clouds.