Shloka 616
अपश्याम महाराज मेघजालमिवोदगतम् । महाराज! तदनन्तर हमलोगोंने पाण्डुपुत्र युधिष्ठिरकी छातीपर बाणोंका जाल-सा बिछा हुआ देखा, मानो आकाशमें मेघोंकी घटा घिर आयी हो
apaśyāma mahārāja meghajālam ivodgatam |
Sañjaya said: “O great king, we beheld it as though a net of clouds had risen. Thereafter we saw the son of Pāṇḍu, Yudhiṣṭhira, with a mesh of arrows spread across his chest, as if a dense mass of clouds had gathered in the sky.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical gravity of war: even a righteous king like Yudhiṣṭhira is not spared pain. Dharma in such a context is shown as steadfast endurance and commitment to duty amid unavoidable suffering, rather than the absence of harm.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that they saw Yudhiṣṭhira’s chest covered with a dense spread of arrows. The scene is described through a simile—like a mass or net of clouds rising in the sky—emphasizing the intensity of the missile assault.