Shloka 22
Bhīṣma’s Retrospective of the Jāmadagnya Rāma Encounter
Divyāstra-Pratiyuddha and Twilight Cessation
उल्काश्न शतशः पेतु: सनिर्घाता: सकम्पना: । अर्क च सहसा दीप्तं स्वर्भानुरभिसंवृणोत्,बिजलीकी गड़गड़ाहटके समान सैकड़ों उल्कापात होने लगे। भूकम्प आ गया। अपनी किरणोंसे उद्भासित होनेवाले सूर्यदेवको राहुने सब ओरसे सहसा घेर लिया
ulkāś ca śataśaḥ petuḥ sanirghātāḥ sakampanāḥ | arkaṃ ca sahasā dīptaṃ svarbhānur abhisamvṛṇot ||
Bhīṣma said: Hundreds of meteors began to fall, accompanied by thunderous crashes and tremors; an earthquake arose. And the radiant Sun, blazing with its own rays, was suddenly enveloped on all sides by Svarbhānu (Rāhu).
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
When dharma is about to be violated on a massive scale, the tradition frames nature’s upheavals—meteors, earthquakes, eclipses—as moral-symbolic warnings. The verse underscores that adharma in human action is mirrored by perceived disorder in the cosmos, urging rulers and warriors to recognize consequences and restrain destructive choices.
Bhishma describes terrifying portents: meteors raining down with thunder-like crashes, the earth shaking, and the Sun suddenly being eclipsed by Svarbhanu (Rahu). These signs foreshadow the catastrophic Kurukshetra war and the suffering that will follow.