Shloka 45

Devanagari script

शूरबाहुविसृष्टानां शक्तीनां भरतर्षभ । ज्योतिषामिव सम्पातमपश्यन्‌ कुरुपाण्डवा:

Transliteration

śūrabāhuvisṛṣṭānāṁ śaktīnāṁ bharatarṣabha | jyotiṣām iva sampātam apaśyan kurupāṇḍavāḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: O bull among the Bharatas, the Kuru and Pāṇḍava warriors beheld the onrush of spears hurled by mighty-armed heroes—like the sudden, converging fall of blazing lights in the sky.

Word by Word

शूरबाहुof the strong-armed (warriors)

विसृष्टानाम्of those that were hurled/released

शक्तीनाम्of spears/javelins

भरतर्षभO bull among the Bharatas

ज्योतिषाम्of lights (stars/meteors)

इवas if/like

सम्पातम्a rushing together; a fall/flight (downward rush)

अपश्यन्they saw

कुरुपाण्डवाःthe Kurus and the Pandavas

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by the address bharatarṣabha)

Kurus

Pāṇḍavas

śakti (spears/javelins)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the impersonal, overwhelming momentum of warfare: even courageous warriors must face the swift convergence of deadly forces. Ethically, it points to the grave consequences of choosing war—once unleashed, violence moves with a force that is difficult to restrain.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a moment in the battle where powerful warriors hurl spears (śaktis). Both the Kuru and Pāṇḍava fighters witness the massed, simultaneous flight and impact of these weapons, compared to meteors or blazing lights falling together.