Shloka 5
अध्याय ५३ — रणमेघोपमा सेना-वर्णना तथा सुषेण-वधोत्तर प्रतिक्रिया
Battle-as-Storm Imagery and the Aftermath of Suṣeṇa’s Fall
शिखण्डी च ततः क्रुद्धो गौतमं त्वरितो ययौ | ववर्ष शरवर्षाणि समन्ताद् द्विजपुड़वम्
Śikhaṇḍī ca tataḥ kruddho Gautamaṁ tvarito yayau | vavarṣa śaravarṣāṇi samantād dvijapuṅgavam ||
Sañjaya said: Then Śikhaṇḍī, inflamed with anger, swiftly advanced against Kṛpa—Gautama’s descendant, foremost among the brāhmaṇas—and showered him from every side with volleys of arrows.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how anger (krodha) intensifies violence and how, in war, kṣatriya-duty can compel attacks even upon venerable figures like a Brahmin teacher—raising ethical tension between reverence and martial obligation.
Śikhaṇḍī becomes enraged, rushes toward Kṛpa (of the Gautama lineage), and assails him by raining arrows from all directions, as Sañjaya reports the unfolding combat.