Shloka 56
दिशश्चव सैन्यं च शितैरजिह्ागै: परस्पर प्रावृणुतां सुदंशितौ । जैसे पूर्वकालमें देवताओंका असुरोंके साथ संग्राम हुआ था, उसी प्रकार पाण्डवोंका कौरवोंके साथ युद्ध होने लगा। अर्जुन और कर्णके बाणोंसे वह अत्यन्त दारुण तुमुल युद्ध आरम्भ होनेपर वे दोनों कवचधारी वीर अपने पैने बाणोंसे परस्पर सम्पूर्ण दिशाओं तथा सेनाको आच्छादित करने लगे
sañjaya uvāca |
diśaś caiva sainyaṃ ca śitair ajihāgaiḥ parasparaṃ prāvṛṇutāṃ sudaṃśitau |
Sañjaya said: With razor-sharp, serpent-like arrows, the two well-armoured, keen-fanged heroes covered—each against the other—the directions and the armies. As in ancient times the gods once clashed with the asuras, so now the Pandavas and the Kauravas entered a dreadful, tumultuous battle; and when the fierce combat began under the volleys of Arjuna and Karna, their shafts seemed to veil the whole field, turning war into an all-encompassing storm of weapons.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the overwhelming, all-consuming nature of war when great rivals meet: prowess can eclipse the world itself, yet the imagery also hints at the moral weight of such violence—heroic skill becomes a force that blankets all directions, leaving little room for ordinary human measure.
Sanjaya describes the battle intensifying as Arjuna and Karna unleash volleys of sharp, snake-like arrows. Their exchange is so fierce that it seems to cover the battlefield and even the quarters of space, likened to the primordial wars of gods and asuras.