Shloka 64
अध्याय १ — न्यग्रोधवनोपवेशनम् तथा द्रौणिनिश्चयः
Night at the Banyan and Drauṇi’s Resolve
अश्वानां हेषमाणानां गजानां चैव बृंहताम् । सिंहनादश्न शूराणां श्रूयते सुमहानयम्,'हींसते हुए घोड़ों और चिग्घाड़ते हुए हाथियोंकी आवाजके साथ शूरवीरोंका यह महान् सिंहनाद सुनायी दे रहा है
aśvānāṁ heṣamāṇānāṁ gajānāṁ caiva bṛṁhatām | siṁhanādaś ca śūrāṇāṁ śrūyate sumahān ayam ||
Sañjaya said: “Along with the neighing of horses and the trumpeting of elephants, this mighty lion-roar of the warriors is being heard—an ominous surge of martial pride and violence rising in the night.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how the sensory spectacle of war—cries, roars, and animal sounds—can magnify aggression and pride. It implicitly warns that such martial exhilaration often accompanies adharma-driven violence, especially in the Sauptika Parva’s night-time context.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the overwhelming sounds around the warriors: horses neigh, elephants trumpet, and the fighters raise a great lion-like battle-cry, signaling the escalation of armed action in the Sauptika Parva.