Shloka 31
भीष्मद्रोणयोर्दुर्योधनं प्रति शमोपदेशः | Bhīṣma and Droṇa’s Counsel of Conciliation to Duryodhana
ते पिबन्त इवाकाशं दारुकेण प्रचोदिता: । हया जम्मुर्महावेगा मनोमारुतरंहस:,दारुकके हाँकनेपर वे महान् वेगशाली अश्व मन और वायुके समान तीव्र गतिसे आकाशको पीते हुए-से चले
te pibanta ivākāśaṃ dārukeṇa pracoditāḥ | hayā jajñur mahāvegā manomārutaraṃhasaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Urged on by Dāruka, the horses surged forward with tremendous speed—swift as thought and as the wind—so that they seemed, as it were, to drink up the very sky.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily uses poetic exaggeration to convey unstoppable motion: once decisive action is set in motion—here symbolized by the chariot team driven by Dāruka—events accelerate toward their consequences. Ethically, it hints at the Mahābhārata’s larger theme that choices and preparations in the Udyoga Parva propel the world toward war’s inevitable results.
Vaiśampāyana describes a chariot’s horses being driven by Dāruka. Spurred on, they race forward with extraordinary speed, compared to the swiftness of thought and wind, appearing to ‘drink the sky’ as they fly along.