Shloka 1
धनंजयस्य आश्वासनम्
Dhanaṃjaya’s Reassurance and the Opening Engagement
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत विराटपर्वके अन्तर्गत योहरणपर्वमें अजुन-कृप-संग्रामविषयक पचपनवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ ॥/ ५५ ॥। हि >> आय न (0) है ० षट्पज्चाशत्तमो< ध्याय: अर्जुन और कृपाचार्यका युद्ध देखनेके लिये देवताओंका आकाशमें विमानोंपर आगमन वैशम्पायन उवाच तान्यनीकान्यदृश्यन्त कुरूणामुग्रधन्विनाम् । संसर्पन्ते यथा मेघा घर्मान्ते मन्दमारुता:,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! तदनन्तर भयंकर धनुष धारण करनेवाले कौरवोंके वे सैनिक शनै:-शनै: आगे बढ़ने लगे। उस समय वे ऐसे दिखायी देते थे, मानो ग्रीष्मके अन्त एवं वर्षकि प्रारम्भमें मन्द वायुद्वारा प्रेरित मेघ धीरे-धीरे आ रहे हों
vaiśampāyana uvāca | tāny anīkāny adṛśyanta kurūṇām ugradhanvinām | saṁsarpante yathā meghā gharmānte mandamārutāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Janamejaya, thereafter those battle-formations of the Kurus—men bearing terrible bows—were seen advancing little by little. They appeared like clouds at the end of summer, slowly gathering and moving forward, urged on by gentle winds.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse does not give a direct moral injunction; it heightens ethical awareness by portraying war as an approaching storm—an image that suggests inevitability, mounting consequence, and the need for steadiness and discernment as conflict gathers.
After the preceding events, the Kuru forces are seen advancing in formations. The narrator compares their gradual movement to clouds forming and drifting in at summer’s end, signaling the build-up toward imminent battle.