Shloka 15
Nakula’s Engagement with Citra-sena and Karṇa’s Sons; Śalya Re-stabilizes the Kaurava Host
वादित्राणां च घोषेण शड्खानां निनदेन च | अभवन्नादिता भूमिर्निर्धातैिरिव भारत
vāditrāṇāṃ ca ghoṣeṇa śaṅkhānāṃ ninadena ca | abhavannāditā bhūmir nirdhātair iva bhārata ||
Sañjaya said: With the deep blare of the musical instruments and the resounding call of the conches, the earth seemed to thunder, O Bhārata—reverberating as though struck by repeated bolts of lightning. The scene conveys how the machinery of war overwhelms the world with noise and force, foreshadowing the moral weight and devastation that follow when armies surge into battle.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the overwhelming momentum of war: collective human intent, expressed through martial signals (conches and instruments), can make the very earth seem to tremble. Implicitly it warns that such mobilization is not merely spectacle—it carries grave consequences, reminding the listener of the moral and existential weight of battle.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield atmosphere as the armies sound conches and instruments. The combined roar is so intense that the ground appears to thunder, setting the stage for the impending clash in the Śalya Parva.