Shloka 71
Kaurava Mobilization at Kurukṣetra (Duryodhana Orders War Preparations) / कुरुक्षेत्रे धार्तराष्ट्र-सैन्यसज्जा
शड्खदुन्दुभिसंसृष्ट: सिंहनादस्तरस्विनाम् । पृथिवीं चान्तरिक्षं च सागरांश्वान्चनादयत्
śaṅkha-dundubhi-saṃsṛṣṭaḥ siṃha-nādas tarasvinām | pṛthivīṃ cāntarikṣaṃ ca sāgarāṃś cānunādayat ||
Vaiśampāyana said: The lion-like battle-cry of the swift and mighty warriors—blended with the blare of conches and the booming of kettledrums—spread across the earth, the sky, and even to the seas, making all those realms resound in echo. The scene signals the irreversible momentum toward war, where collective resolve and martial display drown out the last possibilities of restraint.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how mass emotion and martial pageantry can accelerate conflict: once the collective war-cry rises and reverberates everywhere, it symbolizes a point where pride, momentum, and group resolve overpower restraint—an ethical warning about how quickly societies can move from negotiation to violence.
As war preparations intensify in the Udyoga Parva, conches and drums are sounded and the warriors raise a lion-like shout. The roar spreads through earth, sky, and sea, portraying the vast scale of mobilization and the dramatic, near-cosmic resonance of the impending Kurukṣetra conflict.